FILIPINA WINS CASE AGAINST ROYALTY IN EUROPE FOR ILLEGAL DISMISSAL

A maid was was unfairly sacked following a 'downstairs' plot to get rid of her reminiscent to the hit TV drama Downton Abbey.

Susana Danio claimed she was dismissed after other members of staff at the Chelsea home 'brainwashed' her employer, London-born princess Marie-Chantal, against her because they were jealous.

And at at a central London employment tribunal today, Marie-Chantal, heiress daughter of US duty-free billionaire Robert Miller, was ordered to pay the maid almost £7,500 compensation.

Susana Danio outside Central London Employment Tribunal where she was awarded almost £7,500 in compensation

Susana Danio after today's Central London Employment Tribunal hearing where she was awarded almost £7,500 in compensation

Ms Danio, 34, who worked as a domestic help and occasional nanny for the princess’s five children for two years, was fired in April.

In a statement to the tribunal, Ms Danio claimed: 'Senior staff were jealous of me. After three months my salary was increased. The princess knew I did my job well. It was all about envy and jealousy from senior staff. They made up stories, gossip and lies to brainwash the princess.'

After the hearing, Ms Danio said: 'I was accused of stealing clothes, sleeping in guest bedrooms, not listening and being rude.'

Susana Danio claimed staff 'brainwashed' her employer, Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, against her because they were jealous

She sued Marie-Chantal, 42, a socialite and children’s clothes designer, who admitted unfair dismissal through her lawyers.

The princess, who is related to the British royal family through her marriage to Prince Pavlos of Greece, did not attend the tribunal which heard how her maid was suddenly sacked with no notice period and that the proper dismissal process was 'completely disregarded'.

Ms Danio, who said she had lived in the UK since 2004 and has held numerous posts with 'reputable private families', was seeking around £10,000 in damages claiming it took her six months to find another job after she was fired for alleged dishonesty.

The princess was catapulted to the front ranks of Europe’s royalty in 1995 when she married the oldest son of the exiled King Constantine II of Greece at St Sophia’s Cathedral in Bayswater.

Prince Pavlos, 43, a former Army officer, is now a City financier and sailing champion. His wife has set up a chain of children’s fashion boutiques called Marie-Chantal with outlets in London, Paris and New York.

She has also written and illustrated a fairytale book, The Frog Prince.

Andrew Sugarman, acting for the princess, argued Ms Danio should get only six weeks’ pay, claiming she should have found employment sooner.

But Judge Angela Stewart awarded her £7,442, saying: 'We order the respondent to pay the claimant for being unfairly dismissed. The circumstances were that the claimant was dismissed and had serious and grave allegations of misconduct brought against her including dishonesty.

'The tribunal concluded that even though the claimant got a written reference she would still have had to explain about her dismissal and what had happened about her position in the previous household.'

The princess’s office declined to comment.

SOURCE: The Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)

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