A student has won a claim for unfair dismissal after he raised concerns about suspected food poisoning at a Pizza Hut takeaway.
David Low was employed in Aberdeen by franchise company Ultra Catering, which runs branches of Pizza Hut in Scotland.
Combining work with his architecture degree at Robert Gordon University, he was soon promoted to shift manager after starting the job in June 2023.
Although he received no formal training at the start of his work, he attended training as part of his promotion to manager and this highlighted the importance of food safety.
This training led him to question some of the practices he had seen earlier in his employment, the tribunal heard.
Raw products were supplied to the store by Pizza Hut, and there was a detailed system by which they had to be stored and handled.
The premises were often short-staffed and Low worked long hours. He told the tribunal there was a regular “churn” of staff and that his employer was grateful for him stepping up into a more supervisory role.
Staff were required to input information, such as freezer temperatures, into an app called Hut Bot throughout their shifts. However, Low was aware that actual temperature readings were often not being taken, so the app was filled with inaccurate information.
He regularly raised issues with the way the store was managed with directors, and felt unsupported when asking for training for new staff. Low was also anxious that he might be held liable in some way if the poor practices led to food poisoning.
He emailed his manager in April 2024 saying he would step down as assistant manager. “I cannot be held responsible for us failing Ace [the hygiene inspection]. Until a change comes this is unfortunately what will happen,” it said.
He also messaged his manager on a work WhatsApp chat explaining in detail a number of incidents where food safety recommendations had not been followed.
At one point, Low became ill after eating some food from the branch, which he believed to be linked to food poisoning caused by the meal.
In May, after lodging numerous other complaints, he was told his pay was going to be cut and he would be demoted from shift manager to “in store” employee. The company accused him of making malicious complaints to Pizza Hut, and of sabotage.
He was also told he should now work at the Dunfermline branch, more than two hours away, which would be impracticable for him as he lived in Aberdeen. Low took this request as amounting to a dismissal, and was offered no further shifts.
Although there was no formal dismissal as such, the tribunal ruled that the actions that led to the termination of the employment relationship meant that he was “in reality being dismissed”.
Furthermore, the decision to dismiss was based on Low’s series of protected disclosures to Pizza Hut of his hygiene concerns, the tribunal said. He was awarded £11,270 in compensation.
