Cook at famed fish and chip shop wins £34,000 compensation after finding flies in box of scampi

A cook at a famous fish and chip shop has won over £34,000 after she reported finding flies in a box of scampi but was then not told about the results of the investigation.

Elizabeth Booth reported concerns about the frozen scampi but then received no documentation about the subsequent investigation and therefore 'reasonably apprehended that the contaminated scampi was to be cooked and sold'.

She was also given false information about a damaged box of mayonnaise being placed in the bin, only to later be told that it had been decanted into different tubs.

The final straw for Mrs Booth was when her boss failed to tell her about a new policy to serve repeat customers first - meaning that she did not know that she needed to prepare a portion of mushy peas.

After walking out of the restaurant, she took the fish and chip shop to an employment tribunal and has now been awarded £34,312.89 in compensation.

Mrs Booth had a long service at La Mirage Restaurant in Helmsdale, Sutherland. The restaurant is a famous fish and chip shop on the North Coast 500 route in the Scottish Highlands.

The first matter at the restaurant was the unilateral transfer of the alcohol licence into the owner, Haydar Baran's, name with no consultation.

Mrs Booth had held the alcohol licence for many years before Mr Baran acquired the business.

She felt like she was being undermined when her certificate was taken down and Mr Baran's was put up in its place.

The tribunal found: "That the way in which the matter was handled undermined [Mrs Booth's] position and standing within the organisation and, in her perception, diminished her status in the eyes of colleagues."

The second major incident concerned a food safety incident in 2024 involving scampi.

When a box of frozen scampi was opened, Mrs Booth discovered frozen flies and reported it to Mr Baran.

The kitchen porter removed the scampi and placed them in a plastic box.

The tribunal added that there was no evidence that the contaminated scampi was cooked and served to customers.

Mr Baran investigated the incident and raised the matter with the supplier.

However it was not documented or communicated with the business in a matter that adequately addressed Mrs Booth's concerns.

The tribunal found that: "The significance of this incident therefore lies not in whether contaminated food was served, but in [Mirage Restaurant's] failure to document that contaminated scampi was received, returned to the supplier and replaced at the supplier’s cost.

"Without transparently setting out these actions, [Mrs Booth] reasonably apprehended that the contaminated scampi was to be cooked and sold, as well as the replacement scampi."

A further incident took place in 2025 when she was informed by Mr Baran that the mayonnaise delivery had been placed in the bin because it was damaged on delivery.

The mayonnaise was later decanted into different tubs and used in food preparation.

The tribunal found that inaccurate information had been communicated to Mrs Booth regarding the disposal of the mayonnaise.

On May 24, 2025, she walked out of the restaurant and her employment ended immediately.

This was following a miscommunication between Mr Baran and Mrs Booth about the provision of mushy peas to customers.

Mr Baran wished for regular customers to be served first but Mrs Booth was not told and became confused when she was asked to prepare mushy peas when her first order did not contain them.

The tribunal found that this 'diminished her authority'.

Mrs Booth took the case to an employment tribunal in Aberdeen where her claims of constructive and unfair dismissal were successful.

Her claim of failure to provide written particulars of employment was also successful.

Mirage Restaurant was ordered to pay her £34,312.89 in compensation, mainly made up of a loss of earnings.

Employment Judge Robert Phillips said: "The Tribunal found that the incidents were linked by a common underlying theme.

"They concerned matters falling within, or closely connected to, areas in which [Mrs Booth] had longstanding experience, qualifications and responsibilities.

"Following the alcohol licence incident, [Mrs Booth] repeatedly experienced decisions affecting those areas being taken, implemented or communicated without adequate consultation, explanation or engagement.

"The Tribunal found that there was no reasonable and proper cause for those repeated communication failures.

"The Tribunal found that the cumulative effect of those matters was to cause [Mrs Booth] reasonably to conclude that her experience, judgment and responsibilities were no longer being afforded proper weight.

"By May 2025, the Tribunal finds that [Mrs Booth] had experienced a sustained pattern of communication failures affecting matters connected to her role and responsibilities.

"The Tribunal finds that she had genuinely and reasonably lost confidence in the respondent's willingness to communicate with her openly and appropriately regarding those matters.

"Whilst none of those incidents, viewed individually, would necessarily have amounted to a repudiatory breach, taken together they amounted to a fundamental breach going to the root of the employment relationship."