An Army veteran who was dismissed days before his son was due to be born has been awarded £1,977.76 after an employment tribunal ruled he was unfairly sacked.
Matthew Lambah, who worked at Arragon House, was given notice on November 27 2025 after requesting paternity leave for the birth of his child due on December 22.
The hearing was told Mr Lambah was given a letter by operations manager Andrew Dossor on behalf of Arragon Jaguars Limited, which stated the decision was “not appealable and non-negotiable”.
Minimum Wage
The following day, Mr Dossor wrote to Mr Lambah explaining the dismissal was due to a decision “to drop down from 3 to 2 gardeners” because of economic implications from the Isle of Man Government’s 9.9% minimum wage increase and “economic uncertainty caused by the UK budget”.
However, company director Allen Lloyd gave evidence that the principal reason was absenteeism. The tribunal found this belief was mistaken.
“The evidence was that Mr Reed, as the line manager, had no complaints about Mr Lambah,” the decision stated. “Mr Lambah had always kept him informed regarding his absences and they had not been unauthorised.”
Mr Lambah, an Army veteran living with PTSD, had worked as a gardener since May 2024. He was the youngest of three gardeners and regularly undertook heavy lifting, which caused physical injuries.
The tribunal noted there had been no investigation before the dismissal, with no disciplinary warnings ever issued in writing.
“There was no investigation at all whether of redundancy or competence/conduct,” the decision stated. “There had never been any warning recorded in writing at any time during Mr Lambah’s employment concerning alleged unauthorised absences.”
Mr Lambah has since secured new employment as an HGV driver and was promoted to Logistics and Transport Manager on 5 June.
You can find the full ruling here.