![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SEI_289950175-cfba.jpg\")
\n\t\tLuke Billings has been awarded more than \u00a320,000 (Picture: Mail)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tLuke Billings has been awarded more than \u00a320,000 (Picture: Mail)<\/p>\n
A man who was sacked for shutting down production in a Nestle factory has won a massive payout after being unfairly fired. <\/p>\n
Luke Billings has won \u00a322,000 in a payout from Nestle after he set off a fire alarm while vaping in the company\u2019s Staffordshire<\/a> factory bathroom.<\/p>\n Billings had worked in the factory for more than a decade when, in October 2023, the fire alarm went off after CCTV showed him slipping into a bathroom to smoke.<\/p>\n He was questioned by bosses about the footage, and admitted he did use vapes at home and on the weekends, but didn\u2019t admit to smoking on the job.<\/a><\/p>\n Despite not fessing up, Billings was dismissed for gross conduct \u2013 but after an employment tribunal in Nottingham<\/a>, it was found Nestle had no right to fire him.<\/p>\n Billings has been handed \u00a322,216 for wrongful termination.<\/p>\n The tribunal heard that Nestle\u2019s disciplinary officer considered a few reasons before firing him: \u2018Firstly, he considered a breach of health<\/a> and safety. Secondly, he lost trust and confidence in the Claimant because he believed he was lying.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018Thirdly, there was a loss of production to the business.\u00a0He concluded that the Claimant, having been employed for a long time in the business, ought to have known better.\u00a0\u2018<\/p>\n Still, Billings argued that he was unfairly dismissed because at the time of the incident, he was being phased back into the job after leaving for a year of sickness and depression<\/a>. <\/p>\n The tribunal found: \u2018The less favourable treatment was not because of the Claimant\u2019s disability<\/a> but because he did not admit his culpability and\/or apologise. The reason for dismissal had nothing to do with the Claimant\u2019s disability.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Billings\u2019 claim of disability discrimination wasn\u2019t upheld, but he was found to have been unfairly dismissed.<\/p>\n In addition to the \u00a322,000 payout, Billings will be reimbursed for the earnings he lost when he was set to return to work<\/a> a month after the incident. <\/p>\n Earlier this year, a company director who repeatedly shouted \u2018potato\u2019 at an Irish woman was ordered to pay her \u00a323,300 after an employment tribunal found she had been racially harassed.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tFollow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t Metro\u2019s on Whatsapp! Join our community<\/a> for breaking news and juicy stories.<\/p>\n Over a period of six months, Mick Atkins, from engineering firm West Leeds Civils, targeted Bernadette Hayes, who is Irish, using terms like \u2018paddy\u2019, \u2018stupid paddy\u2019 and \u2018pikey\u2019.<\/p>\n She said: \u2018This totally eroded my self-respect and my self-esteem. It made me feel small, insecure, violated and extremely anxious.\u2019<\/p>\n Finding in Bernadette\u2019s favour, Judge Buckley said: \u2018From a subjective point of view, it clearly created a hostile, humiliating and offensive environment for her.<\/p>\n \u2018In my view, taken as a whole, it is reasonable for an individual of Irish heritage to find the repeated use of the terms \u201cpotato\u201d, \u201cpaddy\u201d, \u201cstupid paddy\u201d and \u201cpikey\u201d offensive and humiliating.\u2019<\/p>\n She was awarded \u00a320,736 and the company was told to give her four weeks\u2019 pay, amounting to \u00a32,800 after the judge upheld her harassment claim.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SEI_289816431-e059.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe tribunal heard the company suffered a \u2018loss of production\u2019 (Picture: Mail)<\/p>\n![\"Apps](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-1632181964-e1700130460337.jpg\")
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