A nanny tried to sue a mother after he injured his wrist while cooking lobster for her son.
Brian Handford, who calls himself ‘manny’, has been looking after eight-year-old Yulia Shkop at the exclusive Wentworth Estate in Ascot, Berkshire, since September 2020.
But things turned sour in February 2021 when Mr Hadford was asked to prepare two live lobsters for the little boy.
The family’s private chef had left the house, so Mr Handford turned to YouTube to see how to do it.
But when he pushed hard on the knife, he ended up tearing the scaphoid ligament in his wrist.
This left him needing surgery and completely immobilized him for six weeks. He then needed a course of physiotherapy for another six weeks.
Mr Handford and Ms Shkop began arguing when she refused to pay for his treatment, saying she took “no personal responsibility”, an employment tribunal heard.
The mum moved Mr Hadford from the house, where he had previously dined with the family every night, to a staff cottage on the property in July 2021.
Just two days later, she asked him to leave the venue entirely.
Ms Scope tried to claim that Mr Hadford injured his wrist while swimming in the pool, but the court accepted his version of events.
However, they dismissed the unfair dismissal claim, believing Ms Shkop had lost her “faith and trust” in him following their dispute.
The panel said: “Essentially, Ms Shkop was of the opinion that Mr Handford argued too much and ignored, in her view, the generosity he always offered.
“This can be characterized as a loss of trust and confidence.”
The court also rejected Mr. Handford’s claim for unlawful deduction of wages.
He ruled in favor of his claim that Ms Shkop had breached her requirement to provide an amended written statement of facts in relation to her inability to work due to illness, but concluded that she should not be compensated.
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