A waiter has won an unfair dismissal case after his boss broke wind and wafted the smell towards him in front of customers in the restaurant.
Edgar Simplicio claimed that restaurant owner Alessandro Cretella burped in his face and also asked him whether he wanted to see a picture of his 'faecal matter' during his employment.
Mr Simplicio worked at L'antipasto, which is an Italian restaurant in south west London, owned by Mr Cretella.
Speaking of different incidents in the eatery, Mr Simplicio said that his boss broke wind in front of customers before wafting the smell towards him, something he said left him 'frozen'. In shock, we assume.
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After a huge argument, the waiter ended up resigning and later took the matter to an employment tribunal which has ruled in his favour saying that the 'unreasonable conduct' of his boss leaving him no option but to quit.
According to reports, Mr Simplicio started working at L'antipasto back in 2007 and Mr Cretella later took over from his father in October 2016.
The tribunal was told how the owner has a medical condition called oephophagitis which means that he has excessive gas.
Despite this he denied the allegations but did say that he has a 'childish sense of humour'.
Mr Simplicio also claimed that his boss would grin as he broke wind, deliberately burp loudly (sometimes into his face) and walk around the restaurant serving customers with no shoes on. It's also said that he had a 'habit of lying down' on one of the restaurant's side benches where diners would be able to see him.
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Then, at the beginning of 2020, Mr Simplicio said that Mr Cretella approached him and asked whether he 'would like to see a photo of his faecal matters' which he declined.
No thank you.
Even though Mr Cretella denied the allegations against him, the tribunal panel ruled that they probably did take place, 'given Mr Cretella's childish sense of humour'.
It's reported that the 'final straw' came when Mr Simplicio realised he had been underpaid for a year. Following the row, he was signed off work for a week due to stress and anxiety. Upon his return, he handed in his resignation.
The tribunal ruled in Mr Simplicio's favour meaning that he is entitled to compensation although the amount will be decided at a later hearing.
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In a statement of their ruling, the panel said: "Mr Cretella's evidence that he tried not to dwell on his medical issue so as to maintain a level of confidence as it was a bit embarrassing goes some way to explaining (but does not fully) what he described as his childish sense of humour.
"The Tribunal concludes that burping near [Mr Simplicio], loudly breaking wind and wafting the smell and asking [Mr Simplicio] if he wanted to see a photo of his faecal matters were inappropriate and amounted to unreasonable conduct."
They added: "[Mr Simplicio] cannot be expected to put up with the behaviour Mr Cretella displayed on that day.
"This conduct is so serious as to be likely to seriously damage the relationship of trust and confidence, there was no reasonable and proper cause for such an extreme reaction. Mr Cretella later apologised but by then it was too late."
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