Cleaner sacked for ‘missing carpet fluff once’ at five-star London hotel

A cleaner has protested at an iconic London hotel after she claims she was unfairly sacked.

Teresa Calixto worked at The Dorchester as a cloak room attendant until she says she was unfairly sacked over trivial issues, such as forgetting to refill a soap dispenser and failing to pick up carpet fluff with a lint roller on one occasion.

Teresa, originally from Peru, is a member of the United Voices of the World (UVW) campaigning trade union – and the group descended upon The Dorchester to protest what they describe as ‘poverty wages’ and job insecurity for migrant workers.

The protest, held in the hotel lobby on Friday (April 6), ‘turned ugly’ when security guards ‘began to push, pull and drag’ cleaners. Police were called and officers allowed the mop- and broom-wielding protesters to continue their action outside the hotel.

Teresa claims she was forced to work throughout the Christmas period without a break, and was then put through seven hearings before being sacked on January 4 for ‘trivial issues’.

She has since launched legal action against The Dorchester over unfair dismissal.

Teresa Calixto says she was unfairly dismissed (Picture: UVW)

The protest in the hotel’s lobby ‘turned ugly’ (Picture: UVW)

Teresa said: ‘I have worked very hard and honestly, giving 100% of my effort and being there when the Dorchester needed me.

‘I’m indignant about the way I’ve been treated. It’s been so hard, I’ve had seven disciplinary meetings and I’ve been left in total shock.

‘I think my sacking was completely unjustified. I want justice and to clear my reputation.’

UVW say Teresa’s dismissal is an example of how poorly migrant workers are treated in the UK. They say she was paid ‘poverty wages’, below the London Living Wage, despite The Dorchester’s luxury prices.

The central London hotel charges £121 for tea and £816 per night for five-star service – much of which is delivered by migrant workers like Teresa, they say.

Petros Elia, general secretary of UVW, said: ‘Teresa’s dismissal is yet another example of how unscrupulous bosses treat low-paid, migrant and precarious workers.

The Dorchester is a prestigious hotel in central London (Picture: Shutterstock/Tony Baggett)

‘We see this time and time again in UVW where our members are subjected to constant disciplinaries and routinely dismissed for minor issues or misunderstandings, like eating leftover food.

‘In our experience, leniency is seldom afforded to Black, brown or migrant workers, with the threat of dismissal constantly hanging over them.

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‘These abuses of power should be publicly named. Teresa deserves to be respected and reinstated by The Dorchester and we are supporting her in her fight.’

UVW say The Dorchester refused to reinstate Teresa because of ‘the nature of her misconduct’ and ‘the consequences for the hotel’. The hotel said it had ruled against taking an action short of dismissal due to the seriousness of the alleged offenses.

‌A spokesperson for The Dorchester told Metro.co.uk: ‘An incident involving a former employee took place at The Dorchester on April 6. For legal reasons we cannot elaborate further.

‘We have a long-standing track record of exceptionally high employee engagement based on robust processes to help ensure our employees are treated with the utmost respect.

‘In line with our core company values of We Care, our employees are at the heart of everything we do.’

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