Wednesday 15 June 2022 05:04 PM Heathrow airport worker with 'banter in his blood' wins unfair dismissal after ... trends now
A Heathrow baggage handler who claimed he had 'banter in his blood' has won an unfair dismissal claim for being sacked after a series of pranks with his boss descended into acrimony.
Krishan Bhardwaj and manager James Lee were engaged in a playful working relationship which went too far, an employment tribunal heard.
In one instance Mr Lee tied his colleague's shoelaces together while he slept and in another tried to pull his trousers down in front of other staff at work.
The pair were described as 'best friends' and 'sweethearts' by one colleague, but Mr Lee complained about his colleague's behaviour after their banter boiled over and became personal.
Mr Bhardwaj brushed aside his boss's complaints about him, believing his behaviour had simply been part of their working environment, but he was fired following a disciplinary investigation.
Krishan Bhardwaj, a baggage handler who worked at at Heathrow's Terminal 2, has won an unfair dismissal appeal and is in line for compensation after he was fired following the breakdown of his friendship with his boss, James Lee, who said Mr Bhardwaj's pranks had gone too far. Pictured: Stock image of Heathrow Terminal 2
However, an employment tribunal has now ruled Mr Bhardwaj was unfairly dismissed by logistics company Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata), after audio recordings of his abusive behaviour were not revealed to him until an appeal hearing.
Although he lost additional claims of racial and sexual harassment he is now in line to receive compensation.
The Watford tribunal heard Mr Bhardwaj had worked as a baggage handler for around 14 years.
At the time of the incidents he was working for Dnata - which employs 2,700 staff in airports around the world - at Heathrow's Terminal 2.
The 'ramp agent' team which Mr Bhardwaj was part of was supervised by supervisor Mr Lee.
The tribunal heard Mr Lee and Mr Bhardwaj regularly played pranks on each other in the communal staff area in a 'give and take' relationship.
In November 2018, for example, the panel heard Mr Lee tied Mr Bhardwaj's shoelaces together whilst he slept on his break.
At the beginning of 2019 Mr Bhardwaj advised his boss about a potential health and safety risk of a flight they were working on.
Mr Bhardwaj said this was a 'turning point' in their relationship as, though the issue was initially dismissed by Mr Lee, it was referred to the duty manager who was grateful for the information.
Later in the year, Mr Bhardwaj told of several occasions when Mr Lee would 'bear hug' him from behind, which he found 'annoying'.
In April the pair had a disagreement outside the break room, during which Mr Lee 'humiliated' his subordinate by calling him 'P*ki', 'Big Nose' and saying he would 'make sure' he lost his job.
Once in the break room Mr
