Sir Toby’s Beers in Norwich Market loses employment tribunal

Pavi Pathmaraja successfully claimed for unfair and wrongful dismissal against Sir Toby’s Beers after the tribunal found she had been dismissed without proper procedure in January 2024.

Sir Toby’s Beers (Image: Denise Bradley/ Newsquest) Miss Pathmaraja, who started working at the craft beer shop and bar in 2019, was accused of conducting freelance social media work while on shift.

However, the tribunal found no formal warnings or disciplinary actions had been taken before she was abruptly fired.

READ MORE: City sandwich shop closed less than THREE months after opening

The case was heard at Norwich Employment Tribunal on October 21 and 22, with Judge Magee ruling that her dismissal was unfair and procedurally flawed.

Pavi Pathmaraja​ (Image: Danielle Booden/ Newsquest) Miss Pathmaraja moved from part-time to full-time work in 2022, and in 2023, she was given additional responsibilities for social media management, alongside salary increases.

Despite concerns over her social media work, the company failed to conduct an investigation before dismissing her.

She was summoned to a meeting without warning on January 18, 2024, and immediately dismissed.

One colleague, Mr Plant, alleged that she was working for other clients during shifts, including taking photos and creating Instagram posts.

Toby Westgarth (l) and Dominic Burke are the co-owners of Sir Toby’s Beers (Image: Denise Bradley/ Newsquest) However, Miss Pathmaraja insisted her laptop was open only for her employer’s work, and that she sometimes took photos during breaks.

The tribunal found no formal evidence was gathered to support the allegations and concluded that had a proper procedure been followed, she would not have been dismissed.

Miss Pathmaraja was awarded £10,529.27 in compensation.

The company was represented by company director Toby Westgarth who co-owns the business with Dominic Burke.

Dominic said: “It was the first time we’d had to fire someone at Sir Toby’s Beers and we thought we had followed the correct procedure, but it turns out we didn’t.

“We are disappointed that we didn’t do it in the correct manner, so we’ll certainly learn from our mistakes, and we have since taken on the help of a local business to assist us with any HR issues that may arise in the future.”