BL-Tribunal | Employer correct to dismiss employee over response to sandwich prank

A Swindon-based garage was correct to dismiss a member of staff for his “abusive” response to a colleague he suspected of poking holes in his lunchtime sandwich as a prank.

The 21-year-old employee, formerly an apprentice technician at a Scania depot in Wiltshire, was fired for sending threatening messages and physically confronting his suspected prankster.

The Bristol Employment Tribunal heard the garage had a culture of “banter” and “pranking,” before ultimately ruling that the dismissal was “necessary to protect employees.”

Crushed crisps, smashed sandwiches: How workplace ‘prank’ led to dismissal

Former apprentice technician, Brooklyn Forrester-Hayes, joined the Scania depot in February 2020 as a 16-year-old.