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Factory Worker Fired For Drinking Nine Hours Before Shift Awarded £5,000 In Compensation

Factory Worker Fired For Drinking Nine Hours Before Shift Awarded £5,000 In Compensation

She admitted to drinking three beers at 5am before going to sleep

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A woman has been awarded more than £5,000 after a judge found she was unfairly fired from her job for drinking nine hours before her shift began.

Malgorzata Krolik admitted to bosses at Young's seafood factory in Livingston that she had three beers at 5am - nine hours before her shift started at 2pm - after they smelt alcohol on her breath.

The company said it had a 'zero tolerance' rule when it came to alcohol and sacked Krolik - saying it was forbidden for staff to drink on the same day as their shift, the Daily Mail reports.

However, at a tribunal a judge said there was no real difference between her drinking in the early hours than someone who drank booze the night before going to work.

Rudy and Peter Skitterians/Pixabay

The tribunal found that no proper investigation had been launched into the claims that Krolik posed a health and safety risk to herself or her colleagues.

Krolik had worked at the fish factory for 11 years before the incident in August last year.

The tribunal heard that on the day she had been on a 2pm until 10pm shift and was called into a briefing.

During the briefing she was told she would need to take annual leave while work was carried out on a production line at the factory.

Upon being told the news, Krolik is said to have lost her temper, but later apologised to her bosses.

At one point, Krolik is said to have become tearful and was given a hug by her team manager who said he could smell alcohol on her breath.

She was asked if she'd been drinking to which she admitted to drinking three beers before going to sleep at around 5am.

She is reported as saying: "I have had one, no three beers before work this morning as I have had trouble sleeping and that is maybe why you smell the alcohol."

Following her confession, Krolik was taken to the factory's health and safety manager, who claimed he had reason to believe she was under the influence of alcohol.

Krolik was suspended and later fired from her job.

StockSnap/Pixabay

But the tribunal ruled she was unfairly dismissed, as her drinking was the 'equivalent to an employee consuming three beers by 11pm at night, sleeping for a number of hours, and then attending work at 9am the following day'.

Judge Jude Shepherd added: "It was not reasonable for the respondent to conclude that the claimant posed a health and safety risk to herself or other employees on this basis without further investigation."

Krolik won her unfair dismissal claim and was awarded £5,454.29 in compensation.

Featured Image Credit: Google Maps

Topics: UK News