UK Woman Fired for Phone Use, Claims Prior Boss Notification

A woman who worked at a restaurant in the UK was fired from her job because she was accused of using her phone while working. Her name is Sophie Alcock, and she is 20 years old. Sophie claimed that her boss fired her in an unprofessional way without any valid reason. The incident happened at a restaurant called Toast in Withington, Manchester, where Sophie had been working for only two weeks.

According to Sophie, on July 6, she told the cafe owner, Matt, that she might be distracted by her phone because she was anxiously waiting for her degree results. She said that Matt seemed okay with it and didn't say anything about her work performance. She made sure to serve all the orders on time.

The next day, she heard rumors about getting fired due to her attitude, which came through the office grapevine. Another chef even asked her if Matt had approached her about it, to which she jokingly asked if she was getting fired, and the chef confirmed it.

To confirm the rumors, she emailed her boss, and he replied that she was no longer needed to work at Toast. Sophie then confronted her boss and recorded the conversation where he accused her of being on her phone for four hours. In response, she showed him the screen-time tracker on her phone, which proved that she had used the phone for only 2 hours and 40 minutes that day.

Sophie explained that she used her phone for short periods, 10 to 15 minutes at a time, and mostly during her breaks before or after her shift.

The restaurant, Toast, released a statement saying that Sophie had worked with them for two weeks during the summer but was not employed anymore. They expressed regret that her experience was not positive and said they had contacted her to discuss her concerns and make improvements. They also mentioned that she would be paid for the hours she worked and wished her well for the future.