BJELIC:CARLTON CLUB BARMAN FAIRLY SACKED FOR DISOBEYING BOSSES

A barman at one of London’s most exclusive private members clubs was fairly sacked for failing to follow managers’ instructions when serving tea and coffee, a tribunal ruled.

Branko Bjelic claimed bosses at the Carlton Club forced him to have an assessment for post-traumatic stress disorder believing he was a violent Balkan War veteran.

At one point Mr Bjelic’s line manager even called the police because they feared he was a threat to staff, the central London tribunal was told.

Mr Bjelic claimed he was unfairly sacked by the exclusive Pall Mall club, where members include David Cameron and other senior Tories.

He said: ‘I have a Mediterranean character and a strong, clear voice. I am from the former Yugoslavia and that was enough for them to conclude I am a Balkan War veteran and possibly a killer.’

But tribunal chairman Andrew Glennie said Mr Bjelic was fired on the reasonable grounds he repeatedly refused to adopt a new routine for tea and coffee service.

He said: ‘The factual heart of this case was that Mr Bjelic was being forced to accept an entirely minor change to his job that would not disadvantage him at all.

‘At all stages he held that he would not accept this. He refused to follow a reasonable instruction and he did so in a manner that was damaging and disruptive.’

He added that Mr Bjelic had persisted with claims he was forced out because an HR director had wanted his job for her son, even when she revealed she had no children.

Mr Glennie said the barman’s ‘loud’ and ‘rapid’ speech could have fuelled the impression among colleagues that he was being aggressive.

Mr Glennie said: ‘He also speaks with great emphasis and uses some extreme language.

‘In terms of the events he was telling us about, he described them as being ‘torture’ and ‘hell’ and he described his former manager as being a ‘dictator.”

The barman, who worked there from May 2006 until December last year, had said he was forced out of the job he loved after complaining about manager Bill De Gouveia.

He also accused Mr De Gouveia of ‘spreading hatred’ about his Yugoslavian origins by suggesting a more junior barman who spoke ‘perfect English’ should take his position.

In October last year, he was suspended from work after managers accused him of disobeying their instructions when serving tea and coffee.
 
The barman, of (227) Acklam Road, Kensington, west London, was finally fired over the same issue on December 10.

Mr Bjelic had also claimed he was told to see a doctor when as a follower of Indian spiritual leader Satya Sai Baba, he was forbidden to do so.
 
But the panel also found his religious beliefs had not been violated, because he was not forced to undertake any medical treatment.

Mr Bjelic also claimed he was constructively dismissed so his job could be given to the son of the HR Director Anne Lightbourne.

But line manager Mr Field said he was fired for refusing to comply with instructions and his behaviour had amounted to gross misconduct.

Mr Field added that he had contacted police when the barman called in sick because he claimed he ‘might explode and kill somebody.’

Mr Bjelic denied this, but the panel found he was likely to have said it.

Mr Field added: ‘We involved the police because we were concerned for the safety of our staff and members.

‘We believed that Mr Bjelic had been involved in the Balkan wars and wondered whether he might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.’
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