A woman sacked by her chef husband after she caught him having an affair with his sous chef has been awarded nearly £10,000 in compensation.
Jacqueline Herling confronted Stefan Herling in May 2022, telling him she had seen CCTV footage of his infidelity at the Beehive Inn, their business in Combs, Derbyshire.
During a heated row, Mrs Herling said she “would not set foot in the pub again”, an employment tribunal was told.
Mrs Herling, who began working at the pub in 2003, sued her husband and the family business for unfair and wrongful dismissal, unauthorised pay deductions and victimisation, after he issued her with a P45.
The couple, who married in 2008, have two children together, and were all living together in the pub, a Manchester employment tribunal heard.
After the argument, Mrs Herling never moved out, but reduced her work to “occasional duties” such as chopping logs and mowing the lawns, the tribunal was told.
Mr Herling told his wife to “think about things and take her time before making any or any long-term decisions”, but she began divorce proceedings in July 2022, the tribunal heard.
She continued to be paid her “notional” salary of £9,000 per year, but after Mr Herling spoke to the business’s accountant, who said his wife could not be paid if she was not working for the pub, he issued her with a P45.
Mrs Herling was not told about the P45, which had been issued through an electronic payroll system, the tribunal was told.
Left without a salary, she started a new job at a local supermarket, the tribunal heard.
The tribunal concluded that Mrs Herling was dismissed on November 4 2022, “when she found out that she had been issued with a P45”.
“An employee cannot effectively be dismissed unless or until she is told so or has been given notice of such,” the panel said.
“The likely outcome may have been that (Mrs Herling) would not ultimately have returned to work, but (Mr Herling) should have tried, at that stage, to reach a compromise.”
The employment tribunal upheld her claim and awarded her £9,676 in compensation.
