Business and Employment Law Case Study Analysis: Myconos Restaurant

This case study examines a scenario at Myconos, a Greek restaurant, involving several employment law issues. The case revolves around three main issues: the dismissal of an employee, Eddie, for alleged theft; claims of workplace discrimination by Helena against her manager, Jason; and the general application of workplace ethics. The analysis delves into the legality of Eddie's dismissal, considering ethical breaches such as conflict of interest and employee theft, and the potential for wrongful termination claims. It also explores Helena's claims of gender-based discrimination, assessing Jason's actions regarding bonuses and their implications under UK Labour Law. The study considers the rights of both employees and the responsibilities of the employer, referencing relevant legal principles and precedents to determine the fairness of actions taken by the restaurant management. The conclusion provides insights into the importance of adhering to workplace ethics and fair employment practices.

Running head: BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Facts:
In this case, Myconos is a Greek restaurant in Southsea which talks about equal
opportunity to his employees and claimed to have a harassment policy for the protection of
the rights of his employees. It has been seen that various issues have been incurred in the
restaurant, firstly, the manager Jason was said to have been biased towards his employees on
the ground of sex as the same has been alleged by one of the female employee Helena who
said Jason has favoured another employee Stravos by giving him bonus irrespective of his
poor performance. On the other hand, Jason was alleged to pass bad remarks to other
employees such as Andreas and Janice regarding their work and dress. On the other hand,
another employee named Eddie was found to be guilty of stealing money from the account of
the restaurant while doing his duty, who was subsequently been dismissed from his work by
the management of the restaurant.
Issue:
The issue, in this case, was whether Eddie can be dismissed from his work in
Myconos on the ground of gross misconduct and upon such dismissal whether he poses any
right against the management of Myconos. In addition to this, another issue was whether
Helena was a victim of workplace discrimination by her manager Jason on the ground of her
sex and whether she has any rights against such discrimination under the law.
Rule:
The rule regarding workplace ethics, such as employee's duty of not to cause a breach of
moral responsibility which he or she owes as an employee to the employer. Furthermore, the
concept regarding the employee’s duty of not to cause any conflict of interest to the other

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employee as well as not to engage in any act of theft of property of the employer while
executing their duty. In addition to this employee's right in case of wrongful dismissal and his
or her right to claim severance package in case of such dismissal or right to negotiation in
contrast to legal parlance have been discussed in this case.
Further, the employee’s right against discriminatory treatment in the workplace in
respect of United Kingdom Labour Law has been thoroughly discussed in this case. In
addition to this, how this discriminatory act of the employer or representative of the employer
or any other person authorized in deciding on the company, of giving special privilege to few
employees in a workplace affects the environment as well as how does it effectively breaches
the legal right of an employee has been further discussed in this case. Furthermore, remedies
that are available to the employee against the employer for such discriminatory treatment has
been mentioned in this case.
Analysis:
In the present case, it can be seen that Eddie, who was appointed to look after the bar
section Myconos for taking payments of food and drinks at the bar counter was founded on
the CCTV camera to put something inside his pocket several times during his working hours.
The fact further states that the suspicion over Eddie occurred when the accounts from the bar
do not match with the amount of crowd that is coming to the Myconos every day. It can
further be seen that Eddie was suspended from his job based on the suspicion of stealing. To
determine Eddie's claim, the case needs to have a look from the perspective of the employer
and Eddie.
According to the employer's view, it can be held that Eddie was guilty of a breach of
ethical conduct for the workplace. The evidence of such misconduct can be seen from the
CCTV footage where it was visible that on several occasion Eddie was putting something

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inside his pockets during working hours. The employer can be held Eddie guilty of moral-
ethical rights, which Eddie owes to the Myconos as an employer. Moral rights comprise the
principle of morality which promotes a system of behavior about the standard of right and
wrong conduct of a person. The word morality further carries the concept of moral standard
regarding behavior, moral responsibility regarding consciousness and further includes the
concept of moral identity which prepares a person to do right or wrong act1. However, it is a
matter of fact the concept of morality differs from situation to situation. One morality that is
applicable in one place might not apply to the other. However, the universal concept of
morality remains the same. The morality of a person's conduct depends on the moral
standard. This distinguishes between the right and wrong conduct by applying the concept of
honest consideration to underlying motive, to potential danger and by complying with
established values and rules. The application of ethics regarding moral conclusion depends
upon the rules, standards, and code of ethics which primarily helps a person in making a
decision. However, ethics in the workplace mostly depends on the formation and enforcement
of moral standards in the specific work environment2. The concept of morality further
includes moral responsibility especially in the case of the workplace3. The concept makes
mandatory for a person in an organization to take charge of his responsibility in the
organization and further person such acts which are beneficial for the organization and refrain
from doing those acts which might end up in polluting the environment of the organization.
Therefore, as per the view of Mycono’s management, in the present scenario, Eddie is
said to have breached the moral consciousness and moral responsibility of his job, under
which he was supposed to take into consideration good and bad aspect of his actions over the
1 Brown, Geraldine. "Ethical and Moral Courage is Distress among Professional Nurses: A Workplace Issue."
ABNF Journal 26.3 (2015).
2 Campbell, Matthew, and Karsten E. Zegwaard. "Developing critical moral agency through workplace
engagement." Practice-based learning in higher education. Springer, Dordrecht, 2015. 47-64.
3 Dhanani, Lindsay Y., Jeremy M. Beus, and Dana L. Joseph. "Workplace discrimination: A meta‐analytic
extension, critique, and future research agenda." Personnel Psychology 71.2 (2018): 147-179.

4BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
organization as an employee before or during the time of committing such unauthorized and
unethical conduct of stealing of money from the bar’s account. Therefore, Eddie is liable for
causing gross misconduct in his workplace by the employer.
Furthermore, Eddie can be held liable by the management for causing a breach of the
two most important ethical concerns in a workplace, that is; conflict of interest and employee
theft. While discussion about conflict of interest caused by Eddie it can be said that, Eddie
was stealing money from the restaurant account which he was unauthorized to do and along
with this, he was stealing money from his other colleagues who might get paid from such
account of the restaurant. Therefore, his act was indirectly causing conflict to the interest of
other colleagues. Further, Eddie can be held liable by the management of Mycono’s for
stealing money that is another breach of ethical concern named employer theft. In the case
of Central News Agency (Pty) Ltd v CCAWUSA & another4, the court held that a basic
implicit term of each employment agreement is that an employee will not involve in the act of
stealing from the employer and this is referred to as an obvious fact regarding the relationship
between the two parties. This further promotes the trust between an employer and an
employee5. However, in the case of Shoprite Checkers (Pty) Ltd v Tokiso Dispute Settlement
and Others6, the court held that a dismissal can be regarded as fair if it is substantively as
well as procedurally fair. However, in case of workplace ethics, theft is always not about
money but breaching the trust that the employer poses over the employee7. Therefore, the
suspension of Eddie on the above-mentioned ground by the management of Mycono’s is
justified.
4 Central News Agency (Pty) Ltd v CCAWUSA & another (1991) 12 ILJ 340 (LAC)
5 Goh, Edmund, and Sandra Kong. "Theft in the hotel workplace: Exploring frontline employees’ perceptions
towards hotel employee theft." Tourism and Hospitality Research 18.4 (2018): 442-455.
6 Shoprite Checkers (Pty) Ltd v Tokiso Dispute Settlement and Others (2015) 36 ILJ 2273 (LAC)
7 Anglo American Farms Boschendal Restaurant v Komjwayo (1992) 13 ILJ 573 (LAC)

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However, considering Eddie’s point of view it can be said that, he did not admit to
committing such misconduct. Furthermore, the CCTV footage does not specify the fact that
Eddie was putting money inside his pocket. Therefore, due to the absence of clear evidence,
Eddie can bring a complaint about wrongful termination from his job by the management of
Myconos. Eddie can further file a suit of wrongful termination against the Myconos and their
management team and claim severance package if it was there in his employment contract
with Myconos, or he can negotiate regarding the terms of wrongful termination8. In the case
of Gunton v Richmond upon Thames LBC9 it has been held that in case of wrongful dismissal
of an employee without the proper procedure of termination the employer is liable to
compensate the employee for his or her loss. However, the burden of proving his innocence
lies in Eddie.
In another scenario with Helen, who is one of the best-performed employees of
Myconos is although happy with her work but she is upset with her manager Jason. It can be
seen from the fact of the case that, Jason has been appointed as the manager of the Myconos
restaurant for last three months and he has further promised to pay a bonus to the employees
of the restaurant if their performances meet the high expectation level of the restaurant. But it
can be seen from the fact of the case, Jason gave a bonus to another employee Stavros stating
that he shows potential irrespective of knowing the fact he is one of those consistent staff of
the Myconos who is unable to meet their targets10. Helena has further alleged that Jason
offered Stavros a bonus because he is the only male employee of the company11. Therefore,
Helena alleged that Jason is guilty of doing discrimination in the workplace.
8 Hamilton, Frances. "Development of EU Law before the Grand Chamber of the EU to Benefit Transpersons:
By Frances Hamilton, Senior Lecturer in Law, Northumbria University, The United Kingdom." International
Labor Rights Case Law 5.3 (2019): 335-339.
9 Gunton v Richmond upon Thames LBC [1980] ICR 755
10 Kalev, Alexandra. "Rights on Trial: How Workplace Discrimination Law Perpetuates Inequality." (2019):
519-521.
11 Makhuzeni, Charlotte, Nicolene Barkhuizen, and Joel Maubane. "Perceived effects of precautionary
suspensions on service delivery in a South African provincial government

6BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
Considering Helena's allegation it can be said that discrimination refers to an act of
bias or injustice which results in denial of opportunity as well as unfair treatment regarding
the procedure of selection, promotion, and transfer in a workplace12. Furthermore,
discrimination can be said to be illegal as well as unethical especially when practiced in a
workplace. In this case, the alleged discrimination is said to be based on gender biases. An
act or decision can be said to be discriminatory, if, such act or decision, made by the
employer or higher management of a company or any other person authorized in this behalf,
has not been taken considering the merits of all the employees or capabilities of such
employees, but the decision or act was based on merely discriminatory beliefs or other
morally unreasonable grounds13. Further, the impact of such a decision is said to be harmful
and it might promote a negative impact on the affected employees in the organization and
their career as well as the environment of the office. A decision can be said to be negative or
create adverse impact, if, such a decision taken by the authority is though seems fine for all
the employees but it has a latent intention to give benefit to the protected class of people, that
is the privileged employees. This can be referred to as giving an advantageous position to a
few of those employees who might get benefit from the decision of the management.
However discrimination in the workplace can be further classified into two parts, one is the
company or representative of the company knowingly causing discrimination to some
employee or the company or its representatives unknowingly causing discrimination to some
employee. In case of knowingly causing discrimination cases, the onus is on the employee to
prove that the employer is purposely biased towards him or her or a particular group of
12 Liu, Yuhuan, Tianli Feng, and Suichuan Li. "Stakeholder influences and organization responses: A case study
of corporate social responsibility suspension." Management and Organization Review 11.3 (2015): 469-491.
13 Moorthy, M. Krishna, et al. "Employee perceptions of workplace theft behavior: A study among supermarket
retail employees in Malaysia." Ethics & Behavior 25.1 (2015): 61-85.

7BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
people14. In the case of known discrimination, strict actions are obliged to be taken by the
management and harassment board created to resolve issues of this employee in this regard.
Therefore, in this case, it is evident that Jason after knowing Stavros performance data
still giving him a bonus instead of Helena who deserves the bonus on the ground of the 3
weeks consecutive good performance, is a reflection of known discrimination. Furthermore,
Helena can be said to be deprived of her right to claim bonus wrongfully because as per the
promise made by Jason to all the staff reflects that whoever will be the high performer is
eligible to get a bonus15. There was no such mention as potential performers or so on. In
addition to this, Jason by favouring Stavros is breaching other ethical concerns in a
workplace that is just and fair treatment to each employee and equal payment to each
employee. Furthermore, Jason can be said to be held liable for causing unethical conduct of
bribery by giving unreasonable favour to Stavros who does not even pose the requisite
qualification for such favour. Therefore, Helena can raise a complaint regarding such biased
and discriminatory treatment by Jason towards her and other potential employees to the
company management or any other board created by the company in this regard to handling
such issues16. If the company is unable to provide any resolution regarding this then she can
take the help of legal rules and principles envisaged under different rules of United Kingdom
Labour Law. Section 13 of the Equality Act 2010, states that treating an employee less
favourably merely on the ground of protected characteristics such as sex, age, race, caste and
so on, is said to be direct discrimination and hence unlawful17. Furthermore, the other
employees of the organization who feel discriminated in a similar way or under similar issues
14 Yoder, Diane E., and Kathryn G. Denhardt. "Ethics education in public administration and affairs: Preparing
graduates for workplace moral dilemmas." Handbook of administrative ethics. Routledge, 2019. 85-104.
15 Vickers, Lucy. "Religious Ethos, Employers and Genuine Occupational Requirements Related to Religion:
the Need for Proportionality: By Lucy Vickers, Professor of Law, Oxford Brookes University, United
Kingdom." International Labor Rights Case Law 5.1 (2019): 75-79.
16 Weber, Elijah. "Moral distress, workplace health, and intrinsic harm." Bioethics 30.4 (2016): 244-250.
17 Zirkel, Perry A. "Revocation or suspension of Educator certification: A systematic analysis of the case law."
JL & Educ. 44 (2015): 539.

8BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
can institute a suit for breach of their right of equal treatment at the workplace and further for
workplace discrimination based on the ground of sex against Jason and Mayconos with
Helena. In Coleman v Attridge Law18 in the European Court of Justice, the court held that a
person who does not even fall under the protected characteristics referred by law can claim
discrimination on the speculation to suffer unfavourable treatment because of someone else
with whom they are associated or deal with. Further, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and
the Equal Pay Act 1970 promotes the fair and unbiased treatment of employees in the
workplace as well as equal pay for employees. In the case of Villalba v Merrill Lynch & Co
Inc, the issue regarding equal pay to every employee in the United Kingdom has been raised.
Therefore, Helena has every authority to claim the protection of her rights under the
legal principles and guidelines envisaged under the United Kingdom Labour Law.
Conclusion:
Therefore, it can be concluded from the fact of the cases that workplace ethics is a
twofold process that needs to be maintained by both the employer and employee while doing
their work. Furthermore, workplace ethics includes various principles and guidelines which
each need to ensure while executing their duties as a breach of such duties might result in a
breach of ethics in the workplace by such employer and employee.
18 Coleman v Attridge Law (2008) C-303/06

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Bibliography:
Books and Journals:
Brown, Geraldine. "Ethical and Moral Courage is Distress among Professional Nurses: A
Workplace Issue." ABNF Journal 26.3 (2015).
Campbell, Matthew, and Karsten E. Zegwaard. "Developing critical moral agency through
workplace engagement." Practice-based learning in higher education. Springer, Dordrecht,
2015. 47-64.
Dhanani, Lindsay Y., Jeremy M. Beus, and Dana L. Joseph. "Workplace discrimination: A
meta‐analytic extension, critique, and future research agenda." Personnel Psychology 71.2
(2018): 147-179.
Goh, Edmund, and Sandra Kong. "Theft in the hotel workplace: Exploring frontline
employees’ perceptions towards hotel employee theft." Tourism and Hospitality Research
18.4 (2018): 442-455.
Hamilton, Frances. "Development of EU Law before the Grand Chamber of the EU to
Benefit Transpersons: By Frances Hamilton, Senior Lecturer in Law, Northumbria
University, The United Kingdom." International Labor Rights Case Law 5.3 (2019): 335-339.
Kalev, Alexandra. "Rights on Trial: How Workplace Discrimination Law Perpetuates
Inequality." (2019): 519-521.
Liu, Yuhuan, Tianli Feng, and Suichuan Li. "Stakeholder influences and organization
responses: A case study of corporate social responsibility suspension." Management and
Organization Review 11.3 (2015): 469-491.

10BUSINESS AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
Makhuzeni, Charlotte, Nicolene Barkhuizen, and Joel Maubane. "Perceived effects of
precautionary suspensions on service delivery in a South African provincial government
department." Journal of Public Administration 50.Special issue 1 (2015): 644-657.
Moorthy, M. Krishna, et al. "Employee perceptions of workplace theft behavior: A study
among supermarket retail employees in Malaysia." Ethics & Behavior 25.1 (2015): 61-85.
Vickers, Lucy. "Religious Ethos, Employers and Genuine Occupational Requirements
Related to Religion: the Need for Proportionality: By Lucy Vickers, Professor of Law,
Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom." International Labor Rights Case Law 5.1
(2019): 75-79.
Weber, Elijah. "Moral distress, workplace health, and intrinsic harm." Bioethics 30.4 (2016):
244-250.
Yoder, Diane E., and Kathryn G. Denhardt. "Ethics education in public administration and
affairs: Preparing graduates for workplace moral dilemmas." Handbook of administrative
ethics. Routledge, 2019. 85-104.
Zirkel, Perry A. "Revocation or suspension of Educator certification: A systematic analysis of
the case law." JL & Educ. 44 (2015): 539.
Case laws:
Anglo American Farms Boschendal Restaurant v Komjwayo (1992) 13 ILJ 573 (LAC)
Central News Agency (Pty) Ltd v CCAWUSA & another (1991) 12 ILJ 340 (LAC)
Coleman v Attridge Law (2008) C-303/06
Gunton v Richmond upon Thames LBC [1980] ICR 755
Shoprite Checkers (Pty) Ltd v Tokiso Dispute Settlement and Others (2015) 36 ILJ 2273
(LAC)