A Cancer Research charity shop manager was sacked after removing volunteers she considered to be 'annoying' from the work WhatsApp group chat, an employment tribunal heard.

Adelaide Ribaud was fired for misconduct after three volunteers complained to the charity about her.

Their grievances included sending a ‘rude’ message to someone she thought was being sarcastic and stopping staff she deleted from the chat from working at the shop.

Ribaud, who admitted she ‘could have been nicer’, sued for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and victimisation, but all her claims were rejected.

The tribunal in Watford, Hertfordshire, found that Ribaud showed ‘no remorse’ for the way she acted.

Complaints

Ribaud was employed by the charity in a shop in Edgware, northwest London, between July 2018 and March 2023.

As part of her responsibility as a store manager, she oversaw the volunteers who work on a rota among other responsibilities.

Three volunteers complained about Ribaud.

The first complaint was from Datta Shah, who returned from a period of leave in October 2022, but Ribaud ‘refused to allow her to volunteer in the shop and gave her no explanation’ for this.

Another volunteer, Rubeena Anwar, said she arrived for a shift in November 2022 only to be told that her log-in had been removed from the till, and she was ‘not allowed to work in the shop’.

‘She also discovered that she had been removed from the volunteers’ WhatsApp group without explanation,’ the tribunal heard.

The third volunteer, Adelle Clancy, complained that in the same month, Ribaud ‘had sent her an upsetting message and had subsequently removed her from the volunteers’ WhatsApp group without explanation’.

The tribunal heard Ribaud had been ‘annoyed’ when Clancy used the phrase ‘oh great’ in a message exchange, which she saw as being sarcastic.

Ribaud’s response was ‘rude’, and ‘an overreaction to what we consider to be a polite enquiry’, the panel said.

"Lack of remorse"

At a disciplinary meeting in March 2023, Ribaud said of the message she sent Clancy: ‘I guess I could have been nicer.’

She claimed that she didn’t know the text was sent to the group chat.

The tribunal document said in response: "We consider that it is very clear from the top banner of that chat that it is a group chat.

"Within the message sent, [Ribaud] also refers to having not seen her personal message which we conclude would suggest that she is aware that it is within the group chat because she is making the distinction between the two.

Employment Judge Amy French added: "The Tribunal considers that [Cancer Research UK]’s business model is unique. They rely on volunteers. It is the difference between million pounds in profits against millions in loss.

"[A charity representative] described them as the lifeblood of the charity and [Ribaud] herself recognised the importance of their retention."

The tribunal was told that Ribaud had a ‘lack of remorse’ for her actions.

At a disciplinary meeting in March 2023, Ribaud accepted the ‘essential elements’ of her acts of misconduct, but did not ‘necessarily consider that that amounts to misconduct’.

Concluding on the issues Ribaud had with volunteers, French said: "There is subsequently no remorse by [Ribaud], and we consider that in those circumstances there is a real risk that the incident could have occurred again, and we do also consider that does amount to a breach of trust and confidence in the unique circumstances of this business and the importance of volunteers.

"On that alone, the Tribunal do consider that gross misconduct was made out, which would mean [Cancer Research UK] is entitled to dismiss [Ribaud] without notice."

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