Wife wins £10,000 payout after being sacked by chef husband when she caught him having an affair on CCTV

A woman has won a £10,000 payout after getting sacked by her chef husband when she caught him having an affair.

Jacqueline Herling certainly got her payback after Stefan’s secret was revealed to her on CCTV by deciding to go after him with a lawsuit.

The pair worked in a pub together and it all kicked off when she confronted him for the affair, saying she ‘would not set foot’ in there again.

The mum-of-two’s work was reduced to ‘occasional duties’ and her salary was paid to her as normal for the next four months.

However, an employment tribunal heard how head chef Stefan suddenly issued her a P45 without even warning her.

Jacqueline and Stefan had been together for 19 years and had moved into a property above the pub, running it together.

But that all came crumbling down when she caught him having an affair with the sous chef on the CCTV.

The tribunal was told how he initially denied it when his wife confronted him on 30 May 2022, until she explained she’d seen it with her own eyes on the footage.

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The woman was paid a ‘nominal’ tax-free salary of £9,000 a year for the pub and apparently did not leave after telling Stefan she wanted nothing more to do with it.

Their kids stayed with relatives for a short time while discussions took place but soon returned to live with their mum at the pub.

It was explained how she, however, ‘did not work in the pub’ but did perform ‘occasional duties which benefitted the business’ like chopping logs and one trip to Costco for supplies.

While her husband had encouraged her to ‘think about things’ before making ‘long-term decisions’, Jacqueline began divorce proceedings in the July.

Stefan then apparently spoke to the business’ accountant who said she could not be paid if she wasn’t working for the pub.

And so, based on this, the company issued her a P45 at the start of October. But he didn’t tell her until the start of November when she asked where her pay was.

The business and Stefan argued she had ‘resigned’ when she found out about the affair.

But the tribunal did not agree with this as ‘things were said/suggested in the heat of the moment’ but not ‘acted upon nor carried through’.

It was found that she had been ‘unfairly dismissed’ but ‘any compensation should be limited to a month’s pay’.

Jacqueline earned a pay out of £9,676 in the end.