A waitress sacked for failing to inform her bosses that she was going abroad at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has won €9,000 in compensation after an industrial tribunal found that the dismissal was illegal.

The tribunal, chaired by Franco Masini, found that the management did not have the right to know what employees did on their days off or while they were not at work and had no reason to expect the employee to inform them about her trip with another colleague, who was also fired from the job.

The tribunal was ruling in a case filed by Miriam Garcia Medina against her employer, Plan 17 Limited, the operator of the restaurant where she worked, Planet Hollywood, in St Julian’s.

Garcia Medina was sacked in August 2020 after a two-day trip to Rome with a colleague. Upon their return, she tested positive for COVID-19 and called in sick.

When she returned to work, she was told that she had disobeyed orders not to go abroad and was sacked for insubordination.

The tribunal heard that the restaurant manager had given her a number of verbal warnings over mistakes she had committed while serving clients.

The tribunal found that the management did not have the right to know what employees did on their days off

However, it said these were trivial issues that did not merit dismissal, so it was evident that the main reason was the fact that she had travelled abroad without permission.

Company director Pierre Mattocks told the tribunal that what the employee had done “prejudiced the livelihood of her team members, prejudiced the business and the company” and that the action was “not acceptable”.

He added: “I have no idea why they went for two or three days to Rome, it’s not my business, but they did not inform management about it.”

The tribunal heard that the restaurant had to close for a couple of days after Garcia Medina tested positive but noted there was no evidence that she had contracted the virus while holidaying in Rome.

The tribunal said it understood the “disastrous effect” on the restaurant, which had to close for some time, but noted that there was no travel ban at the time. Moreover, the employer had no right to know what employees did when not at work.

The chairman said Garcia Medina’s failure to inform management of her intention to travel abroad did not constitute a serious failure that justified her dismissal. The tribunal therefore ordered the company to pay the sacked employee €9,000 in compensation within a month.

Garcia Medina was represented by lawyer Paul Cachia while lawyer Andrew Grima appeared for the company.