Drunken hotel manager was arrested for assaulting customer and police officer

Donna Griffiths, the manager of a village hotel accused of ‘vulgar’ behaviour towards her Cotswold staff has been sacked.

She was relieved of her duty after her drunken behaviour led to customers leaving reviews on Tripadvisor saying she was ‘like Shameless without the intellect’.

Donna then sued the owners on Wednesday, December 14, for unfair dismissal and won on a technicality. 

Now, the judge at an employment tribunal hearing ruled she will receive no compensation as her ‘unacceptable and blameworthy’ conduct had contributed to her being fired.

Donna reportedly took over running the ‘snug and comfortable’ Barrington Arms in the Vale of White Horse in the Cotswolds in 2017.

But she has records of drunken assault of both a customer and police officer at the hotel, which led to her dismissal in August.

The hearing in Bristol was told Ms Griffiths’ behaviour came to light in 2020 after she had been left in sole charge of the hotel in the village of Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, during lockdown.

She left the hotel in charge of a ‘friend’ who she claimed had hospitality training.

Her friend then called her about some ‘difficult’ customers who were refusing to leave the bar, so Ms Griffiths and the chef returned to deal with the alleged difficult customers.

Ms Griffiths told the tribunal that, after asking them to leave, one customer ‘grabbed’ her arm, and she ‘pushed him away’.

Shortly after this, police arrived and arrested both her and the chef for suspected assault.

She accepted that during the arrest, ‘I may have raised my voice’ but denied assaulting the police officer.

The 82-year-old owner of the business, Peter Saunders, returned to his company for the first time since lockdown. He was isolating at home with his wife during the pandemic as he was vulnerable to work.

He and asked the police to let the two staffers go, but he will change his mind when after seeing a police report about the incident.

Seeing the police report means he will hand Griffiths a written warning about being drunk on the clock. He wrote:

‘I am still bewildered as to why you chose to abandon the hotel on a work day at a time of unprecedented crisis to go on a drinking spree at another pub.

‘It indicates to me that your drinking is totally out of control. I have also had reports of your aggressive behaviour to some of our customers when you are under the influence of alcohol.

‘I must warn you of the fact that if you are caught in the act of being drunk in charge of the hotel, you will be subject to instant dismissal for gross misconduct.:

Moments after, Saunders’ daughter showed him recent negative Tripadvisor reviews referring to Griffiths.

One review reads ‘NOT a pleasant place to visit at all… How it makes money I cannot fathom. Friday night is like an episode of shameless, but with less class!’

Another added ‘Avoid… like Shameless, without the intellect’, a regular said it is now rammed with ‘loud vulgar and foul-mouthed patrons led by no less than the landlady herself’, referring to Griffiths.

Then on December 30, 2020, Saunders fired Griffiths – though he did not tell her in advance the meeting was disciplinary, that her job was at risk or that it was an update to the probe against her.

As a result, employment Judge Adrian Hogarth ruled she was unfairly dismissed and she was also handed £1,076 as Saunders did not provide her with a proper work contract.

The judge stressed about her behavior: ‘The manager of a hotel should not be greeting members of the public when drunk and swearing at them. This conduct contributed to her dismissal.’