A council officer was sacked for putting public health 'at risk' after he gave a Wirral restaurant a hygiene rating score of four without even visiting the premises.
Mark Davies, an environmental health officer (EHO) with Wirral Borough Council, was caught out when owners of the Refreshment Rooms, in Rock Ferry, contacted the council to query the four-star rating they received following a visit Davies claimed to have made in August, 2018. It transpired that the chef whose signature appeared on the form had been off the day of the alleged visit.
Whilst Davies denied forging the chef’s signature, he later admitted that he had copied it from a previous inspection report. During a disciplinary hearing, Davies was initially adamant that he had attended, but later said that “everything was a blur” as he was suffering from mental and physical exhaustion.
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Davies explained that he had given the premises a “dummy score”, following a procedure previously outlined to him by fellow officers. While he was under investigation for the incident, it also came to light that he'd produced a report on the Gartrell Court care home in Saughall Massey, despite the fact that the premises had been demolished three months earlier.
Davies, who had been employed by the authority since 2000, also submitted false mileage claims despite the fact that he had not visited the sites. He was sacked for gross misconduct in October 2020 and his appeal was dismissed. An employment tribunal has now ruled that his dismissal was not unfair.
When questioned about Gartrell Court he claimed that he knew the premises were closed but had again followed common “ingrained cultural” procedures for recording closed premises. However, his bosses told the tribunal that he had been told shortly beforehand not to produce “dummy scores” for closed premises and that producing false reports put the council’s reputation and public health at risk.
During the disciplinary process, which he claimed was not conducted fairly, Davies changed his story, claiming that his mileage claims were correct because he had driven to both locations without entering the premises.
Employment Judge Jennifer McCarthy rejected his argument that his mitigation had not been properly considered by the appeal panel.
