MAFS star loses case against ex-bosses after going 'AWOL' from job to appear on reality show
Married At First Sight's Luke Worley has lost a case against his former employers, EE, after he was sacked for going "AWOL" to appear on a reality show. The 32 year old claimed he was unfairly dismissed from his role as a store manager but an employment tribunal disagreed, ruling that he took unauthorised time off to film dating show, The Language of Love, hosted by Davina McCall.
Luke, who appeared on MAFS last year, jetted off to Spain after telling bosses he would be taking the "opportunity" to launch his career as a reality TV star. However, upon his return from his unauthorised absence in 2021, the store manager was given the boot. Despite taking EE to the tribunal claiming there was a "misunderstanding", a judge labelled his claims "incredible". The court heard that Luke had started working for EE in 2018, with his contract stating all holiday requests had to be approved by a manager.
He booked off a week holiday at the start and end of September 2021 to appear on the Channel 4 show, which saw Brits try to form relationships with people who spoke a different language. However, his application was refused by manager Paul Redhead due to it being a particularly busy period because of the launch of a new iPhone. On September 13, Luke failed to show up at work or inform his bosses that he would be off.
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Following further unsuccessful attempts at contact, Mr Redhead sent an email stating that his absence was not authorised, branding him as having been "AWOL" since the specified date. Consequently, Luke was summoned to a disciplinary meeting on October 7 and ended up being sacked.
He decided to legally challenge EE over unfair dismissal, breach of contract, and disability discrimination, but all claims were dismissed in court. He argued that his dyslexia made it hard for him to comprehend the AWOL policy; however, Judge Stephen Shore pointed out that his diagnosis was based on a non-medical report executed by an unqualified individual.
The Judge clarified: "[Mr Worley] did not have a legitimate reason for absence. We find that [Mr Worley] was capable of reading, understanding, and following the AWOL Policy."
Luke had formerly been matched with Jay Howard on the last series of Married at First Sight UK, but after a physical altercation with another participant, Jordan Gayle, they had to leave the programme. Although they appeared to be one of the more solid couples, he and Jay called it quits before the reunion show.
In January, Luke opened up about feeling betrayed when his brother was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for his involvement with a £3 million cocaine haul. He shared: "I was gutted. It was a betrayal. I wish he had told me and opened up if he was struggling but I felt for him because he must have felt it was a last resort."
He also revealed the emotional toll it took on him, saying, "I was having to deal with the unknown, I had never known anyone going to prison and it was obviously my brother… It was all grief, grief, grief."
