Bridport Leakers Bakery baker's employment tribunal

Artur Piaszczynski - who was being paid £60,000 a year - was told he was causing a 'very serious situation' due to his sub standard loaves, an employment tribunal heard.

But the Pole won his case for unfair dismissal because the business's owner had given him written warnings in English, which he couldn't understand.

Customers of the now-closed Leakers Bakery lodged complaints saying they were 'irritated' because they couldn't make sandwiches or butter toast, the tribunal heard.

Despite repeated complaints and his bosses leaving examples of his poorly-baked goods on his bench, large holes kept appearing in the middle of his loaves.

Eventually Mr Piaszczynski was sacked after six years working there.

But he has now successfully sued Leakers for unfair dismissal after the tribunal found that although Mr Piaszczynski was 'underperforming', the bakery had not done enough to warn him of his failings.

The tribunal ruled that as he had a poor grasp of English, writing him notes was not a sufficient way of telling him to improve, and awarded £15,703 in compensation.

Leakers Bakery had a history dating back to the 1700s and was hugely popular in the coastal market town until it was forced to close its doors in October 2022 amid the cost of living crisis.

It described itself as an artisan bakery 'with a long history of providing quality bread'.

Read more: 'A very, very difficult decision': Bakery explains shock closure

The Bristol tribunal heard Mr Piaszczynski started working there in 2015 and was promoted to head baker.

When his bread was found to be of a poor standard, the hearing was told he was left notes by his boss Caroline Parkins.

In December 2020, one note read: "I have asked you many, many times to make sure there are no holes in the middle of the loaf of bread.

"I have explained that our customers do not like to have holes in the middle when they are trying to make a sandwich or butter toast.

"They get irritated by it and there is a chance they will stop buying our bread.

"I have told you this many times and you have understood and agreed with me. I have been very patient and asked you many, many times to ensure there are no holes through the middle of the loaf.

"However, as you continually take no notice, I am issuing you with a written warning.”

In September 2021, another note said: "I have asked you again and again and again to mould the bread so that we do not have holes through the middle of the loaf.

"This letter is a formal notice to warn you that this cannot continue. We are losing customers because of this. Please see this does not happen again Artur.”

Mrs Parkins, 75, said she gave him a verbal warning in December 2021, which was one of several conversations she had with him about his bread.

A local pub-owner who used the bread for sandwiches complained about the 'large hole in the middle of the loaves'.

There were also "problems concerning softness and some breads which had been poorly risen, including the wholemeal loaves which were described as ‘flat’."

On December 5, a note said: “This is a very serious situation – you walked out of our meeting last Thursday and every night since then some of the bread has been unsaleable.

"This cannot continue and I am therefore sending this letter as a final written warning which I do not want to do but I see no alternative.”

On December 20, 2021, Mr Piaszczynski was called to a meeting 'without warning' and was provided with a Polish interpreter and was sacked on the spot.

Mr Piaszczynski said he 'did not accept that he had seen or understood the warnings which had been left for him' and that notes left on his desk were not 'effective as a means of communicating these warnings'.

A tribunal report added: "Mrs Parkins agreed that the letters had not been handed to him. They had not been emailed to him, sent to him by the post or signed for by him.

"They were also written in English and Mrs Parkins said in evidence that she doubted that he could read English well."

Employment Judge John Livesey said his dismissal was unfair.

Judge Livesey said: "In my judgement, the bakery had not done enough to make him aware that he had been issued with warnings [on three occasions].

"Given the manner that the documents had been allegedly left for him, his poor grasp of written English and his own evidence.... which he repeatedly said that he had not seen or understood such warnings, I did not accept the bakery had been effective in communicating those warnings to him.

"I had no doubt the bakery genuinely believed he was underperforming.

"However, he had not been any specific performance targets. Further, on the basis of my findings, no clear warnings had properly been received or understood."

At the tribunal, Mr Piaszczynski claimed 'baking was an art, not a science'.