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| Carmelli Kosher Bakery |
A man won a lawsuit against a kosher bakery in London after he was fired for using non-kosher jam in the bakery.
Carmelli Kosher Bakery in Golders Green, was ordered to pay the chef for wrongfully dismissing him from his job.
Chef Toufik Benali was awarded $54,000 in compensation by the Watford court after his dismissal.
The Carmelli Kosher Bakery appealed the decision after bosses said Benali had committed a "gross infringement of religious rules" by using strawberry jam, which was bought at Tesco.
The bakery has lost its appeal against the decision of the Employment tribunal, which ruled that the chef was dismissed unfairly for using non-kosher jam. The court found that although the jam incident was “an act of gross misconduct,” it was not the real reason why he was fired.
During questioning, Benali admitted to using the jam for a cake at the bakery, and that he was fully aware that it was forbidden to use the jam because it was not kosher. However, he denied the claim that he had sent a cleaner to buy the jam in Tesco.
After an hour-long probe by the bakery, Benali was ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing and was fired three days later.
Benali told the court that the bakery had victimized him after he complained that the company had not adapted their workload due to his back pain.
Benali began working as a pastry chef in Carmelli in May 2004, but the company's attitude towards him changed after a dispute in 2008. On that occasion, Benali issued an employment tribunal claim for disability discrimination and for alleged wrongful deductions from his holiday pay. The unproven claim was resolved.
Benali claims that since then, Carmelli saw him as a "problematic employee." Tensions rose again when Benali filed a complaint with the court and claimed that his job was not adjusted to accommodate him with his disabilities.
Store manager David Carmelli, refused to accept that Benali was disabled. During the court hearing, Carmelli reportedly said: "If you cannot do the required work, you should get another job.”
Benali said he felt that his employers were "just waiting for him to do something wrong."
In this case, many Jews believe that Benali did more than just “something wrong.” The bakery operates in strict adherence to the Jewish laws of kashrut and the use of non-kosher ingredients could have stripped the bakery of its kosher certificate, which would have ruined their business.
