World · Europe · 2 hrs ago
La Mirage cook awarded £34,313 after tribunal finds she was undermined
A tribunal awarded cook Elizabeth Booth £34,313 after finding that her employer’s actions led her to resign from La Mirage Restaurant in Helmsdale, Scotland.
Booth had worked there since 2006 and held responsibilities including preparing meals and overseeing food safety.
The tribunal found a pattern of decisions that undermined her role, including the owner replacing her alcohol licence without consulting her.
In 2024, she found flies in a box of frozen scampi, but the restaurant did not document or explain the investigation to her; the tribunal found no evidence the scampi was served to customers.
In another food-safety dispute, the owner told her damaged mayonnaise had been discarded, although it was later transferred to other containers and used in food preparation.
A disagreement over serving mushy peas to regular customers was the final incident before Booth walked out on 24 May 2025.
The tribunal found the cumulative conduct breached her employment contract and awarded compensation after her employment ended.
Elizabeth Booth was awarded £34,312.89 after an employment tribunal found that her employer’s conduct amounted to constructive unfair dismissal.
Booth worked as a cook at La Mirage Restaurant in Helmsdale, where the tribunal found her authority and responsibilities were repeatedly undermined.
The incidents included the removal of her alcohol licence, poor communication about food safety issues and a dispute over serving mushy peas.
The tribunal found no evidence that the contaminated scampi was cooked or served to customers.
Booth walked out of the restaurant on 24 May 2025, and her employment ended.
- Who
- Elizabeth Booth, a cook at La Mirage Restaurant, and the restaurant’s owner, Haydar Baran.
- What
- Booth was awarded £34,312.89 for constructive unfair dismissal. The tribunal found that the owner’s conduct undermined her authority and breached her employment contract.
- When
- Booth’s employment ended on 24 May 2025. The tribunal ruling was reported on 4 November 2026.
- Where
- La Mirage Restaurant in Helmsdale, Sutherland, in the Scottish Highlands.
- Why
- The tribunal found a pattern of decisions and interventions without proper consultation or explanation that eroded trust and confidence.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Booth began working as a cook at La Mirage Restaurant.
Booth found flies in a box of frozen scampi and reported the issue to Baran.
After a dispute over serving mushy peas, Booth walked out and her employment ended.
Employment judge Robert Phillips issued the tribunal ruling.
- Compensation
- £34,312.89
- Basic award
- £17,556
- Compensatory award
- £14,911
- Employment
- Cook at La Mirage Restaurant from 2006
- Location
- Helmsdale, Sutherland, Scottish Highlands
- Employment ended
- 24 May 2025
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What people are saying
The tribunal found that the cumulative effect of those matters was to cause the claimant reasonably to conclude that her experience, judgment and responsibilities were no longer being afforded proper weight.
The mushy peas incident had significance not because of the subject matter itself, but because it represented a further example of intervention in an area of the claimant's responsibility without any clear explanation being provided at the time.
That the way in which the matter was handled undermined [Mrs Booth's] position and standing within the organisation and, in her perception, diminished her status in the eyes of colleagues.
The significance of this incident therefore lies not in whether contaminated food was served, but in [Mirage Restaurant's] failure to document that contaminated scampi was received, returned to the supplier and replaced at the supplier’s cost.