Unfairly sacked couple win over £12,000 compensation (From Western Telegraph)

Unfairly sacked couple win over £12,000 compensation

The former landlord of a Pembrokeshire pub, who will share more than £12,000 compensation after being sacked by his new boss, says the industrial tribunal ruling is a warning to employers.

Dave Williams, who ran the Royal Oak at Fishguard with his wife, Rose, declared: "Employers can't run roughshod over their staff.''

Mr Williams spoke to the Western Telegraph after a tribunal at Carmarthen ruled that he and his wife had been unfairly dismissed by Paul Johnson when Mr Johnson took over the tenancy of the pub two years ago.

The pub, a freehouse, was sold to Brains Brewery in 2001 and the company appointed Mr Johnson as its tenant. The first the Williams' knew of the sale was when they were asked by their former boss to collect their wages.

They were told to return later that day to speak to the new tenant. He told them that they could only continue working at the pub under his rules. This breached TUPE, the rules governing transfers of employment.

The couple heard nothing further from Mr Johnson - he had effectively sacked them, said John Bradbury, of the Citizens Advice Bureau at Haverfordwest, who represented them at the tribunal.

Mr Johnson also refused to give them the holiday pay they were due. The tribunal agreed they had been unfairly dismissed under TUPE rules, their wages had been unlawfully deducted and no reasons were given for their dismissal.

Mr Williams, now a self-employed relief milker and gardener, who lives at Fishguard, expressed his delight at the result.

"It is a message to employers who refuse to recognise employment laws,'' he said. He and his wife were awarded more than £6,000 each. Mr Johnson, currently in Iraq, was unavailable for comment.