Wetherspoons has been instructed to compensate an autistic employee at a pub in Trowbridge with over £25,000 following allegations of mistreatment due to his use of a staff discount for a family meal. Brandon Halstead, a kitchen worker at The Albany Palace, faced reprimand from his superiors for utilizing the discount during a dinner with his mother and five other relatives at a different Wetherspoons location in August 2023. This led to accusations of dishonesty and policy abuse, resulting in disciplinary actions that left Halstead feeling persecuted and disappointed.
An employment tribunal has determined that Mr. Halstead, who was subsequently put on stress leave, is entitled to £25,412 as his autism condition put him at a significant disadvantage. The situation escalated when Halstead was called for a disciplinary hearing on charges of gross misconduct related to using the discount to save £19.17 on his meal. Halstead, employed at the pub since September 2018, explained that he was unaware of the restriction limiting the discount to groups of four or fewer.
During a subsequent meeting, Halstead admitted to using the discount for himself and more than three others, claiming ignorance of the limitation. Additional issues arose when it was revealed that Halstead’s mother had access to his Wetherspoons app to check his work schedules, which was deemed a breach of data security policy. Despite attempts to explain his situation due to autism, Halstead was still subjected to a gross misconduct hearing, leading to increased stress and anxiety, eventually resulting in his absence from work.
An occupational health report confirmed Halstead’s feelings of persecution and disappointment, prompting his mother to file a formal grievance on his behalf. However, Wetherspoons officials failed to adequately address the situation, leading to claims of disability-related harassment and a lack of reasonable accommodations being brought to the tribunal. The tribunal revealed a zero-tolerance policy for breaches of the discount policy but criticized the application of this policy on an individual with autism who was not intentionally dishonest.
In response to the tribunal’s findings, a Wetherspoons spokesperson stated that the employee in question remains employed by the company and refrained from commenting on internal employment matters. Notably, the harassment claim made by the employee was not upheld.