Waiter awarded £7,000 compensation after asking his boss to speak to him ‘nicely’

Waiter awarded £7,000 compensation after asking his boss to speak to him ‘nicely’ The Indian restaurant has been ordered to pay the worker a total of £7,185 - Bookmark A curry restaurant waiter has been awarded more than £7,000 after he was fired for asking his boss to speak to him “nicely”. Asif Abbas, 54, was working at India Gate Restaurant in Dunblane, Scotland, which trades as Mr Singh’s, when he was reprimanded by manager Rajinder Singh for bringing dirty dishes into the kitchen even though it is normal practice. Mr Abbas asked Mr Singh if he could speak to him ”nicely”, to which he replied, “you have to go”. Mr Singh has now been ordered by an employment tribunal to pay the waiter a total of £7,185 in compensation. On the night in question in August 2025, Mr Abbas, who had been working as a waiter at the restaurant since December 2022, cleared the dishes from a table and brought them into the kitchen about 7pm. All evening, Mr Singh had been “picking up on small things” with the waiter, and when he brought the dishes in Mr Singh ”began shouting” at him. This was despite the fact that it was normal practice to bring the dishes into the kitchen. Mr Singh said, “I told you to leave the knives and spoon there”, to which Mr Abbas responded: “If you want, I can do that. You can tell me to do this nicely as well.” In response, Mr Singh simply said: “You have to go”. Mr Abbas responded, “You are not going to sack me like this? Why are you dismissing me?” He “felt humiliated” but continued to work the rest of his shift until 9pm, two hours later. At 9pm, Mr Singh saw him and asked: “Why are you still here?” Mr Abbas said he “had thought that this was just a normal argument”. But at 9pm, Mr Singh said, “You have to go. Finish your work. We don’t need you anymore.” The waiter left after the exchange, but spoke to a Citizens' Advice Bureau in Stirling and sent a letter to his boss shortly after. It read: "I am writing to you to seek further information regarding my dismissal from your employment on August 22 2025. "I have sought advice from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau in Stirling and I am not aware of some information that has not been available to me and should have been. I have been employed by the India Gate since December 2022. "I do not have a written contract, but should be entitled to this. I was dismissed without notice with no reason given and I would be due notice pay. "I also believe that this was an unfair dismissal that I should challenge at an employment tribunal." He continued to ask for some information he was entitled to, including the reason for his dismissal and his P45. He finished the letter: "I look forward to hearing from you by September 30. If I don’t get a response, I will consider taking action through ACAS for unfair dismissal." The letter was received and signed for as 'SINGHS', but Mr Singh later claimed he did not see the letter. He did not reply and in December, while he got a job elsewhere, Mr Abbas took the restaurant to an employment tribunal in Dundee. Mr Singh claimed that Mr Abbas “was not dismissed” and had “simply left employment after an altercation”. Mr Singh’s “expectation was Mr Abbas would return for his next shift” and “concluded that he had left and he was not dismissed”. But Employment Judge Robert Phillips agreed with the waiter's claims of unfair dismissal, failure to provide a written statement of employment particulars, failure to provide itemised pay statements, and non-payment of two weeks' notice pay. EJ Phillips concluded: "Before his dismissal, [Mr Abass] was criticised by Mr Singh for his work and [Mr Abass] replied criticising Mr Singh’s tone. "The words “you must go” first used by Mr Singh were ambiguous. The words by Mr Singh “You have to go. Finish your work. We don’t need you anymore.” were not ambiguous. "It was clear to Mr Singh that [Mr Abass] believed he had been dismissed. Mr Singh took no steps to clarify his position at the time or in the days after August 22 or after receipt of [Mr Abass's] letter. "The respondent’s position in its pleadings and at the final hearing that [Mr Abass] resigned is not consistent with Mr Singh’s words. Viewed objectively and considering all the circumstances, a reasonable bystander would have concluded that [Mr Abass] was dismissed. "As there was a dismissal by the respondent in law, the next question is whether there was a potentially fair reason of the dismissal. The respondent advanced no reason for [Mr Abass's] dismissal. "The Tribunal could not conclude that there was a potentially fair reason. As no potentially fair reason has been established, the dismissal is unfair. In any event, no fair procedure was followed." The waiter also made a successful claim of non-payment of holiday pay The restaurant has been ordered to pay Mr Abass a total of £7,185. However, two of his claims were unsuccessful - these were for non-payment of pension and not being paid the national minimum wage.