EXCLUSIVE I was sacked after asking my boss to stop VAPING in the office

• Ledan Perry, 53, claims she was sacked for complaining about vape use indoors
• Belvoir franchisees Peter and Karen Huane accused her of ‘insubordination’

An estate agent administrator sacked from her job claimed she was let go for asking her boss and co-worker not to vape around her indoors.

Ledan Perry, 53, worked for the Belvoir Swale franchise in Sheerness, Kent, for five months until boss Peter Huane knocked on her door last Sunday (December 3) and handed her a letter informing her she had been dismissed.

Mrs Perry, who lives close to the Isle of Sheppey branch, worked under Mr Huane’s wife Karen and alongside their daughter Allannah – and alleges that she was given the boot because she asked the pair to stop vaping around her in the office.

Mr Huane, however, says that she was released for poor performance and ‘insubordination’. He sacked another employee for the same reason in 2016 after she said to a colleague that Mrs Huane was a ‘b****’ and could ‘shove her job up her a***’.

Speaking to MailOnline, Mrs Perry maintains that she was a diligent employee who was only fired because she had been complaining about her colleagues’ persistent puffing, which she said was presenting a risk to her own health.

Ledan Perry, 53, claims she was sacked from her job at a Belvoir letting agency for complaining about her colleagues vaping indoors

The Belvoir Swale estate agents in Sheerness, Kent, which is operated by Peter and Karen Huane

Mrs Perry said Karen Huane, the manager of the Belvoir Swale estate agents (pictured) vaped alongside her daughter inside the office

Karen and Peter Huane, bosses of the Belvoir franchise in Swale, Kent. The pair were taken to an employment tribunal by another employee in 2017 over her unfair dismissal but no compensation was awarded

No smoking signs are fixed to the front door of the estate agent, on Broadway in Sheerness

She said: ‘They wanted to get rid of me because I wanted to get rid of the vaping. Instead of sorting it I got handed my notice. They had no intention of stopping it.

‘I did nothing wrong and I lost my job because of it. It wasn’t unreasonable. I was the only one doing the work there and it was my health at risk.’

Mrs Perry – whose father in law died two weeks before she was sacked – started the job in August and claims she was told at the very beginning that smoking and vaping inside the office was banned. 

No smoking signs are fixed to the front door of the estate agent, on Broadway in Sheerness, according to Google Street View images.

READ MORE: Now doctors warn of health impacts of second-hand VAPING: Study finds e-cigarettes spew out 22 TIMES the safe level of microscopic toxins 

She said: ‘When I started at the beginning of August they said no vaping (inside), they had “no smoking” signs on the door.

‘But after the second day I noticed Karen was vaping and the daughter started vaping at her desk.

‘I said to them, “You’re not supposed to vape”, but they ignored this and vaped freely. It was really irritating me and affecting my health, affecting my breathing, and you could smell it in the air. We didn’t have any windows to open.’

The issue continued to fester for months until Friday December 1, when a new member of staff started and, Mrs Perry claims, joined the others in vaping indoors.

She then sent Mrs Huane a message on WhatsApp which read: ‘I’m really concerned about all the vaping that goes on in the office. It’s not fair on me, it’s affecting my health.

‘People should have a choice not to breathe in toxins. As you know I’m very anti smoking, I’ve researched vaping, it’s proven harmful to others.’

In a reply, Mrs Huane said she would ask people to vape outside, adding: ‘I don’t want it mentioned again as we understand you have your opinion, but telling people all the time is really not fair.

‘People are adults and just because they choose to vape, drink or smoke it’s not for anyone to judge them for that.’ 

However, Mrs Perry claims she then received an ‘aggressive’ phone call from Mrs Huane. Prior to the fallout, she said she had been on good terms with her boss.

During the call, Mr Huane is said to have accused her of ‘taking up his time’ before hanging up. He then appeared at her door on December 3 with a letter in his hand.

Mrs Perry, who is originally from Iran but grew up in London, continued: ‘On Sunday he came to my door, gave me a letter and said: “You won’t be coming back to the office.”

‘The letter said they were ceasing my employment immediately.’

The note did not include a reason for her dismissal; Mr Huane subsequently confirmed in an email to Mrs Perry that she had been let go for ‘several factors including…performance and insubordination’.

He added: ‘I understand your issue with vaping in the office and this was addressed as you were advised.’ 

Mrs Perry was told by email that she was let go due to issues with her ‘performance’ as well as ‘insubordination’ – claims that she denies

Peter Huane arrives on Mrs Perry’s doorstep to deliver her notice of dismissal on Sunday December 3

The administrative worker claimed she had asked her colleagues to stop vaping indoors for the sake of her health

She has been given two weeks’ pay in lieu of working her notice, twice the statutory notice period. She had been five months into a six month probationary period when she was let go.

But she remains of the view her strong anti-vaping view, based on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s hardline stance on the use of e-cigarettes, led to her sacking.

She has lodged a complaint with her former employer, and raised it with Belvoir’s central office in Grantham, Lincolnshire. 

Mrs Perry added: ‘I don’t want more stress in my life while I am arranging my father in law’s funeral. I can find another job – but it’s not right what they’re doing there.’ 

The WHO stated last year that e-cigarettes are ‘harmful to both users, and non-users who are exposed to the aerosols second-hand’. 

Studies in the US have led to similar conclusions, but the most recent UK government review in September 2022 concluded vaping poses a ‘small fraction’ of the risks associated with cigarettes and backed their use as a smoking alternative.

Vaping indoors is not subject to a blanket ban under UK law either, as they are not covered by tobacco product legislation. However, shops, pubs, offices and transport services can impose bans of their own.

It is not the first time Mr and Mrs Huane, who took over the 36-year-old business in July 2016, have sacked an employee over allegations of ‘insubordination’.

They were later found to have unfairly dismissed another employee of 10 years, named as Ms R Riley in documents, on December 9 2016, a few months after taking over the branch.

A May 2017 employment tribunal ruled there were ‘clearly tensions’ between Mr and Mrs Huane and the long-term employees at their new business.

Matters came to a head when Ms Riley said Mrs Huane could ‘shove her job up her a***’ if she couldn’t get time off to see her son’s nativity play and later had an angry confrontation with her on December 8, the day before her dismissal.

Co-workers claimed independently to have heard the property consultant call Mrs Huane a ‘b****’. 

An employment judge found she had been unfairly dismissed because the Huanes could not provide written notes of the investigation that led to her dismissal.

Letters they had written to Ms Riley were written in a fashion ‘consistent with the approach of a small employer unfamiliar with HR practices’, the judge added.

But Ms Riley was not awarded any compensation, as the judge found the behaviour that led to her dismissal was ‘wholly caused by [her] own blameworthy conduct’.

Mr Huane told MailOnline: ‘We have a strict complaints procedure in place and are now investigating the background and circumstances around this issue. Until this is complete, we are unable to comment further.’

Belvoir’s central office was contacted for comment. 

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