An Industrial Tribunal has ruled that a Portrush café worker was automatically unfairly dismissed after her employer bypassed its own disciplinary procedure and statutory requirements before terminating her employment. Alexandra McDonald, who worked as Kitchen Manager at Bob & Berts Portrush Ltd, was awarded £7,858.52 in compensation. The judgment was issued on 11 May 2026 following a hearing held in Belfast between 18 and 21 November 2025.

McDonald was employed at the Portrush store from 10 June 2018 and was promoted to Kitchen Manager in August 2020. Her employment was terminated without notice on 18 September 2024. The respondent, represented by HR Manager Linzi Close, argued she had been fairly dismissed for gross misconduct following repeated warnings about lateness and conduct. McDonald represented herself.

The tribunal found that the store manager, Victoria Logan, had decided to dismiss McDonald before even meeting with her, and had not properly investigated her suspicions that McDonald had been unfit for work due to alcohol on 17 September 2024. Logan did not invite McDonald to a disciplinary meeting in writing, did not give her a fair hearing, and did not inform her of her right to appeal. The regional manager, Marta Sobierajska, agreed with the decision to dismiss without consulting HR or referring to the company's own disciplinary procedure.

At the hearing, the respondent conceded it had not followed the statutory dismissal procedures, its own disciplinary policy, or the Labour Relations Agency Code of Practice. The tribunal found the dismissal was therefore automatically unfair under the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 and the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.

The tribunal rejected the respondent's claim that compensation should be reduced by 100 percent on the basis that McDonald would have been dismissed anyway. It found the respondent had not produced satisfactory evidence to support allegations of prior formal warnings, 17 instances of lateness, or sustained misconduct linked to alcohol. The clocking-in records were found to be unreliable, and the respondent's own response form had previously cited only four instances of lateness. The tribunal also noted that McDonald's annual review, completed on 19 July 2024, rated her performance as "Excellent - Significantly exceeds expectations." The tribunal concluded that had proper procedures been followed, the most likely outcome would have been a written warning, not dismissal. No Polkey deduction was applied.

The tribunal did find that McDonald's admitted lateness on four occasions contributed to her dismissal and reduced the compensatory and basic awards by 15 percent for contributory fault. A mandatory 10 percent uplift was applied to reflect the respondent's failure to follow statutory dismissal procedures. The tribunal calculated a basic award of £4,374.88 and a compensatory award of £3,483.64, giving a total of £7,858.52. Interest will begin to accrue on any unpaid sum from 22 June 2026 at a rate of 8 percent.