A north west pub cleaning lady has been awarded £600 by an employment tribunal following a ruling that she was effectively sacked when her hours were cut. Amanda Potts, 24, told the tribunal that she had been employed to work 26 hours a week at the White House pub in Warwick Road, Carlisle. But on return to work after the birth of her child, and following a change in management, she found that her hours had been reduced. Management explained that the pub simply could not afford the same number of hours as before. But Potts told the tribunal: "I needed full-time employment, meaning at least 16 hours a week, particularly as I was receiving working families tax credit, which requires the claimant to be in full-time work." Potts told the tribunal she then spoke to an area manager who agreed she could do 17 hours a week. But when she returned to the pub she found that still only 13 hours could be afforded. As a result Potts resigned and found work at another pub giving her the hours she needed. The tribunal ruled that there had been a fundamental breach of contract and that she had been constructively dismissed.
