Restaurant boss wins sacking case

A Turkish restaurant manager whose tribunal case exposed how the Ritz resold unused wine has won his claim for unfair dismissal - and more than £6,000 compensation.

But Edip Adanir, 49, lost a claim for racial discrimination against the five-star Piccadilly hotel. Today he vowed to fight on, saying: "Being referred to as a 'bloody Turk' and being treated as a thirdclass citizen was terribly depressing."

Mr Adanir added: "I am very pleased to win the unfair dismissal claim. I didn't go there to get millions - I just wanted to prove that I was treated very badly."

An employment tribunal in London ruled yesterday that Mr Adanir had been treated unfairly by the hotel, saying the hotel management had not followed "best practice" when it fired him. It ordered the company to pay him £6,265.

Mr Adanir was sacked for gross misconduct after conspiring to steal up to £7,000 in fine wine and £300 in food from the restaurant, where his friends dined for free or at a huge discount, in December 2002.

Mr Adanir, who is married with one son, had worked at the Ritz for seven years and had risen to the rank of deputy restaurant manager when he was sacked in April 2003. He previously worked at the Berkeley and Sheraton Park Tower hotels in a career spanning more than 16 years.

The hearing ruled he was not sacked for racial reasons. Instead it accepted the Ritz's claim that Mr Adanir was sacked for gross misconduct. After the ruling, Mr Adanir's lawyer, Angus Richardson, said the action against racism at the hotel would go on. He added that the police inquiry into Mr Adanir's alleged theft had "wholly exonerated" him.

A statement from the Ritz said: "We are delighted that this claim, which we considered to be malicious and categorically untrue, has been wholly rejected and the action we have taken has been accepted to be reasonable, fair and justified.

"We are, however, disappointed that the tribunal has decided, based on procedural-grounds, to uphold the claim of unfair dismissal." During the hearing, restaurant manager Simon Girling admitted opened wine left from functions was sold for a second time to customers in the restaurant.