A barmaid has claimed she was sacked from a pub after she was told showing Covid symptoms wasn’t an ‘acceptable’ reason to be off work.
Rachael, 22 years old, had been at The Walrus in Brighton for three months. On December 14, she got a severe cough and became ill.
She took a lateral flow test on Wednesday that was negative, but to be on the safe side and to protect other members of staff she arranged a PCR and decided to isolate until she’d received the results.
However emails that she says are from her boss show him demand she work as normal that evening until a PCR test confirmed she had the disease as showing symptoms wasn’t an ‘acceptable’ reason to not turn up her for shift.
Ms Baylis offered her notice of resignation, however the messages appear to show her manager refuse to accept and instead sack her for ‘showing a clear lack of respect’ towards management.
Her PCR results have been returned and Ms Baylis asserts that they confirmed her covid.
Rachael Baylis, 22, was working for The Walrus in Brighton for three months. She developed a cold and fever on December 14.
She took a lateral flow test on Wednesday that was negative, but to be on the safe side and to protect other members of staff she arranged a PCR and decided to isolate until she’d received the results. The Walrus Brighton
Government guidance on nhs.co.uk instructs anyone with a high temperature, new continuous cough or loss of smell or taste to ‘self-isolate straight away and get a PCR test’.
The City Pub Group said they were ‘aware of allegations that the company’s well-established Covid-19 safety protocols were not followed’ and confirmed they are urgently investigating the incident.
Ms Baylis, from Worcester, said: ‘I wasn’t upset or sad, I was just angry. They can’t get away like this. They can’t force the sick to work here.
‘It’s a public health concern. They don’t respect sickness and health. I couldn’t get out of bed and they wanted me to go into work.
‘I’ve had a fever and a cough so I did a lateral flow and they were negative but they are so unreliable.
‘I wasn’t shocked that the lateral flow was negative because they can be inaccurate.
‘I told him I was going to do a PCR and he said I couldn’t not go in. I wasn’t surprised at all.
‘He couldn’t accept I wasn’t doing what he told me to do. It just didn’t make logical sense.
‘I wasn’t going to risk other members of staff and customers.’
However emails that she says are from her boss show him demand she work as normal that evening until a PCR test confirmed she had the disease as showing symptoms wasn’t an ‘acceptable’ reason to not turn up her for shift. Pictured: Rachael Baylis
The manager’s messages state the reasons for firing Rachael were that she showed lack of respect for management, had threatened to walk out of her shift the day before and sat outside before her shift had finished.
Ms Baylis said that Covid symptoms started at work on Tuesday. She then decided to go outside and get fresh air.
Emails between the pair show Ms Baylis explaining that she wouldn’t be coming in to work to avoid infecting other members of staff and, after that was disputed, offering her resignation before she was dismissed.
Ms Baylis wrote: ‘Lateral flows are notoriously unreliable with only a 60% accuracy rate and I’m displaying 2/3 symptoms of Covid.
‘Another staff member has also tested positive for Covid therefore it’s even likelier I could have it.
“I don’t feel comfortable going in while I am unwell. This could spread to customers as well as staff, which could make it very challenging for staff to do their jobs.
‘I will get my PCR test results back tomorrow.
“If you are still unable to comprehend my reasoning, please refer to this notice.
The manager replied, “I don’t accept your resignation because of the following issues that I was going discuss with you today at the beginning of your shift before ending your probation period.
“You’ve shown an obvious lack of respect over the last week for management requests/procedures, reaching tipping point yesterday night.
“You threatened walking out several times last evening.” The shift manager told you to change your clothes before you sat down outside.
Ms Baylis said: ‘On Tuesday I told management I felt ill and I sat outside for some air with my jumper on and they were annoyed that I was apparently getting changed.
‘That’s when I threatened to walk out. As soon as I got there, someone said I looked like s***. “I was also coughing.”
Ms Baylis started working at The Walrus part-time in September before going full-time in November. On Monday, she will begin a new role in recruitment.
The City Pub Group’s website says that they are complying with the government’s guidance on managing the risk of COVID-19.
A spokesperson for The City Pub Group said: ‘The City Pub Group is aware of allegations that the company’s well-established Covid-19 safety protocols were not followed at our Brighton pub The Walrus, in relation to isolation arrangements for one of our team members.
“As a company, we are very concerned about the well-being of all our employees and customers during these ongoing pandemics. This is more important than any other considerations.
“We are currently urgently investigating every aspect of this situation to comprehend exactly what has occurred and what should be done to address it.
“We are unable to comment on the next steps of this case until all facts have been determined.”