Amanda Staveley, Newcastle United’s director after she was fired for two trips to Brazil as a nanny, tried to sue her. She lost.
Maira Whittaker said that she felt confused when she learned from an employment tribunal that Ms Staveley had hired a new babysitter to care for her son.
Yorkshire-born Ms Staveley, 48, who is worth around £100million and owns a home in the exclusive Park Lane area of central London, had employed Mrs Whittaker since May 2018.
The nanny informed Ms Staveley, who had once refused a proposal by Prince Andrew, that she was visiting Brazil to take care of her father. She was then granted three weeks compassionate leave.
The tribunal learned that her employer had been notified by her when she returned home from the trip.
But Ms Staveley overlooked the matter and Mrs Whittaker continued in her £46,146-a-year role.
Amanda Staveley, 48, (pictured) who is worth around £100million and who has a home in the exclusive Park Lane area of central London, had employed Maira Whittaker as a nanny since May 2018
Ms. Whitaker, a British-Iranian financial Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s wife, called Ms. Staveley in April 2019. She explained that her father was now suffering from a worsening health condition and she needed to return to Brazil.
Mrs Whittaker, who said that she wasn’t certain if she would return to the UK, called the Hearing. She was informed she would need to resign.
Two weeks later, Mrs Whittaker FaceTimed with Ms Staveley. She was informed that she was welcome back to her job and would need to notify her quickly because a substitute nanny was being tested.
After hearing nothing from Mrs Whittaker over the next few days, Ms Staveley told the Tribunal that she believed the nanny would decide to remain in her country.
Ms. Staveley got a text message from Mrs Whittaker, stating that her new nanny had been appointed and she was planning to return to the UK.
Ms. Staveley said that the post had been filled. Mrs. Whittaker responded, “I believe when we spoke, both of us agreed that we would let each other know when we would return home. I am sorry, but do you still have a job?”
After being fired via email, Mrs Whittaker sued her ex-boss.
In a recent decision, she was denied her claims for unfair dismissal, nonpayment of notice pay and non-provisional written reasons for dismissal.
Mark Sutton, QC Employment Judge, ruled that Mrs Whittaker was fired because Ms Staveley believed Mrs Whittaker had resigned and she assumed the role of the replacement.
In a recent tribunal ruling, Mrs Whittaker lost her claims of unfair dismissal, non-payment of notice pay, non-provision of written reasons for dismissal and unpaid holiday pay (Pictured: Newcastle United directors Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Amanda Staveley in the stands at Newcastle last month)
‘Although Ms Staveley was incorrectly convinced, this belief was encouraged strongly by Mrs Whittaker’s hesitation and equivocation in clarifying her future intentions.
“Ms Staveley is not to be blamed for taking the decision she did. She had to look for a babysitter to help her care for her son, and there was no contact from Mrs Whittaker.
Ms Staveley led the highly criticised takeover of Newcastle United which was primarily funded by the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund PIF and which saw Ms Staveley take a 10 per cent share – earning her £30million in the process.
Human rights groups condemned the deal as it allowed one of world’s most oppressive regimes’sportswash its’ reputation, which was made public last month.
Other Premier League clubs condemned this takeover and claimed it was detrimental to the brand of the competition.
But Ms Staveley insists that the partnership will work for the good of all, saying to The Guardian that she understands and values the human rights messages and takes them seriously.
“But I wouldn’t invite partners into the consortium without a good record. PIF, which is an autonomous entity and separate from the Saudi government, has the ability to do so. Newcastle is not owned by the Saudi state, but PIF.
“In buying Newcastle PIF we are not going hide and proud of them. But, we also need brave partners. That’s my way of doing business.