A hotel worker branded "Mr Grumpy" by his manager has won a claim of unfair dismissal.

Barry Arnold lost his job at the Butterfly Hotel in Ipswich Road, Ardleigh, in May, following a complaint by a customer about his attitude.

It was the third complaint of its kind, said operations director for the group Frank Ribeiro, and it was decided Mr Arnold would have to go.

But because Mr Arnold was given no opportunity to have an appeal heard at which he could explain himself, an employment tribunal at Bury St Edmunds yesterday upheld his claim against the company.

Mr Arnold, 58, of Oakwood Avenue, West Mersea, who worked for Butterfly Hotels for three years, was awarded £4,650 in compensation and lost pay while his former employer came in for a sharp rebuke.

Tribunal panel chairman Christopher Ash told representatives of Butterfly Hotels: "It is a great breach of your own policies and those of natural justice to deny someone the chance of an appeal."

Mr Ash said Mr Ribeiro had been "arrogant and high-handed" in refusing to allow Mr Arnold the chance to have his say after his sacking.

As a result, the tribunal panel ruled that his dismissal had been "overwhelmingly unfair".

During the hearing, Mr Ribeiro claimed Mr Arnold had displayed a poor attitude to customers, who he described as the "lifeblood" of the hotel industry.

In his 15 years working at Butterfly Hotels, Mr Ribeiro said he had never before come across a member of staff who had been the subject of three serious complaints within two years.

He consulted with hotel general manager Alan Cowie, who then called Mr Arnold in for a meeting, showed him the latest letter of complaint and dismissed him on the spot.

Mr Cowie said: "He had a definite attitude problem."

As a result of the third complaint he had been obliged to trim £300 off the customer's bill.

Mr Cowie admitted in a letter to Mr Arnold, he had told him that he must stop being "Mr Grumpy".

In evidence to the tribunal, Mr Arnold said he had never intended to be surly but found himself working in difficult conditions with few staff for support.

A road accident in which his son had lost an arm also meant taking him to Romford for rehabilitation resulted in less sleep than he ought to have had.

Mr Arnold said he had not considered himself at fault in relation to any of the complaints and denied he received any formal warning about his conduct or attitude.

Published Friday October 11, 2002

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