Married at First Sight star Luke Worley loses unfair dismissal claim after going ‘AWOL’ from his job at the EE store to appear on Channel 4 dating show

Married at First Sight star Luke Worley has lost an unfair dismissal case against his former employers after he disappeared from work to appear on a Channel 4 dating show.

Luke Worley has claimed he was unfairly fired by network operator EE for taking unauthorized leave to appear on ‘The Language of Love’ with Davina McCall.

In 2021, Mr Worley, a store manager in Basildon, Essex, flew to Spain to film the show; However, it was revealed that Mr Worley had done so even though he was not allowed to do so by his boss.

Unwilling to let the ‘opportunity’ for a reality TV career slip away, Mr Worley boarded the plane to Spain anyway and was fired on his return.

He went on to appear on Married at First Sight in 2023 – for which he gave up the job he took after being fired from EE – but was sacked following a physical altercation.

A spokesperson for Worley told MailOnline that the reality star had no comment on the decision.

Married at First Sight star Luke Worley has lost an employment tribunal against his former bosses at EE, who sacked him after he went to Spain to film another reality show.

Luke as seen on Married at First Sight last year – before he was suspended following a physical altercation with another contestant

It was featured on Channel 4’s The Language of Love, along with other British and Spanish singles; The main thing was that the contestants could not speak each other’s language.

Luke Worley (right) in The Language of Love, filmed in September 2021 and released the following January

Court documents reveal Mr Worley was the store manager of the phone shop in Basildon, Essex, at the time and was not allowed to take time off to film the program in Spain.

It brought English and Spanish singles together to see if they could develop an attraction despite not speaking each other’s native languages, and the inclusion of a transgender contestant sparked controversy.

Tribunal judges said Mr Worley had no ‘legitimate’ reason for his absence after he requested leave despite being told it had not been approved.

The court, held in east London, heard the offer of leave was rejected by manager Paul Redhead; manager Paul Redhead said he was denied three weeks’ leave after ‘careful consideration’ due to the potential impact on the store, the team and the region. and a broader business.

It was a big time for EE as Apple launched its new iPhone 13 smartphone series; This was a period of big business for the company and a time when staff were prohibited from taking leave.

The hearing was told that Mr Worley had worked for EE since 2018 and had booked a week’s leave at the beginning and end of September 2021.

But after being offered the chance to appear on the show hosted by Davina and Spanish TV presenter Ricky Merino, he was told he ‘must be free’ between September 13 and September 22.

He requested leave for this period but his application was ‘rejected’ by Mr Redhead.

This was followed by a phone call days later in which Mr Worley explained that he would “still entertain the opportunity to appear on the reality TV show and face any consequences when he returns to work”.

Mr Redhead later told the so-called reality star in a follow-up email: ‘I appreciate your honesty in coming forward to make the request and then your desire to proceed with the opportunity presented to you, as in the call we made last week. If permission is granted without permission, an investigation will be initiated.’

Mr. Worley did not respond to the email and did not show up for work or notify his bosses that he would be on leave on September 13.

After attempting to make further contact, Mr Redhead emailed the manager to inform him that his absence was unauthorized and that he was considered a ‘fugitive’ from that date.

Labor Judge Stephen Shore said: ‘This case arises out of an offer (Mr Worley) received to appear on a reality TV show.’

He realized Mr Worley had no “legitimate” reason for his absence and the MAFS star tried to classify it as a “misunderstanding”. This claim was described as ‘incredible’ by EJ Shore.

The Language of Love is presented by Davina McCall and Spanish TV presenter and singer Ricky Merino.

The EE store in Basildon, Essex, is where Luke Worley worked before heading off to film his Channel 4 reality show

After returning from Spain, Mr Worley was summoned to a disciplinary hearing on 7 October, where he was dismissed. The show was later released in January 2022.

Mr Worley attempted to sue EE for unfair dismissal, breach of communications and disability discrimination but were all rejected.

Judge Shore said the reason for Mr Worley’s dismissal was gross misconduct, having been absent without leave for more than six days.

‘We find (Mr Worley’s) submission that, as a general principle of employment law, any employee of any company can tell his employer, if he gives permission, that he will not come to work because he is not going to come to work. The judge added that “it is incredible not to expect reasonable notice and payment for leave.”

The board heard that Mr Worley had said in a telephone conversation with his line manager that he was ‘leaving anyway’.

‘The panel as a whole has experience of managing people and considers it unlikely that a manager of his (Mr Worley’s) experience would not have known that an employee who had been refused leave could then take the leave time requested as unpaid leave without it. “They have the authority of their managers, as Mr. Worley did,” Judge Shore said.

Mr Worley also sought to claim disability discrimination because of his dyslexia, which he insisted had affected his ability to understand EE’s AWOL policy.

However, the court found that the reality TV star’s diagnosis resulted from a non-medical report carried out by anyone with a relevant qualification.

Mr Worley claimed the ‘fire at his home’ ‘destroyed his personal medical records which could have genuinely supported his case’.

Concluding the decision, Judge Shore said: ‘There was no legitimate reason for (Mr Worley)’s absence.

‘We found that (Mr Worley) was able to read, understand and follow the AWOL Policy.’

Mr Worley previously went viral after accidentally FaceTiming TV presenter Maya Jama

He was given his number by mistake after a woman he met on holiday wrote down a fake phone number.

Mr Worley appeared on Channel 4’s Married At First Sight UK last year but was axed from the program in October following an argument with another contestant, Jordan Gayle.

He quit his sales job at an IT firm before appearing on his second reality show.

He said later BBC She received death threats after appearing on the show, where relationship experts match people who are only meeting for the first time when they are about to be legally married.

He went viral in 2021 after he was given a fake phone number by a woman he met on holiday, and it turned out that the number belonged to TV host Maya Jama.

He described the surprise digital encounter as ‘purely mental’ and later told local newspaper the Daily Gazette: ‘It was a surreal moment and I was almost speechless.

‘It was great though and we had a quick chat with Peter Crouch about his Euro show on the BBC and then we said goodbye.’

He said later same paper On her appearance in The Language of Love: ‘When I spoke to the casting agent she said my personality was created for television and two days later I found myself in the office of a production company in London.

‘I remember saying that the only thing missing in my life was love and that I wanted someone who could come home after a long day at work.

‘I honestly didn’t stop talking and they were all laughing at me and the next day I got a call saying they loved me and wanted me to be on the show.

‘I’m really shocked that you don’t normally see ‘normal’ looking people on these dating shows.’