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A manager at Tesco was dismissed after he paid a junior colleague for shifts she never worked after they started dating. Abdi Abdullah wanted to help out with Bianca Tordai’s finances by paying her for fictitious Sunday shifts. The pair entered into a relationship and she admitted she saw the “benefits” of dating a boss. However, an employment tribunal in South London heard that Ms Tordai then eventually became “afraid” to break up with Mr Abdullah due to the control he had over her salary.
Shortly after they did broke up, her income dropped which prompted her to raise a grievance against the Tesco manager. Subsequently, he was sacked for gross misconduct. Mr Abdullah then took his former employer to the tribunal on the grounds of unfair dismissal, race and religion discrimination and race harassment. His claims were thrown out by a judge who believed his sacking to be “fair” due to the “very serious nature” of the allegations against him.
The former supermarket manager started working at Tesco’s Croydon Fulfilment Centre in 2003. 16 years later in December 2019, Mr Abdullah entered into a secret relationship with Mss Tordai who was recognised by the company as an “up-and-coming talent”.
She was put forward for a promotion and was sent on a placement from October to December the following year. During this period, she was overpaid, the tribunal heard. In the same year, the employee was also paid for a number of Sundays she had not worked between August and September.
The tribunal said: “[Mr Abdullah] knew he was authorising payments to Ms Tordai, with whom he was having a secret relationship at the time, so as to inflate her earnings.”
Upon returning to work in January 2021, he and Ms Tordai were no longer in a relationship. In April 2021, she requested a meeting with a different manager who she told about the relationship.
The tribunal heard that he allegedly told her he had “control over her earnings” and that there would be “trouble” for her if they ever broke up. Ms Tordai did admit to seeing the “benefits” of the relationship after her wage increase, but became “afraid” to end it due to his comments.
Ms Tordai raised a formal grievance in April 2021 and Mr Abdullah was asked to attend an investigation meeting based on three allegations against him. The former manager claimed he “didn’t see anything wrong” with the relationship, insisting it didn’t “influence [his] decision making”. He also denied any “coercive behaviour” but was let go on on May 21.
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