Interview Scenario G
Use any name and your own address and age.
The Facts
Last summer vacation, your uncle, Marco Pierre Black, found you a job at a top restaurant in
Glasgow – Le Grand Legume, 200 Great Western Road. He is the chief chef there. On the 9th March,
you arrived for your first day’s work. Your job was to wash and put away pots, pans and dishes.
Some of the dishes had to be stored in a high cupboard. On the cupboards there were a number of
signs saying ‘To store dishes, use safety ladder’. However, as far as you could see none of the other
staff bothered using the ladders. Instead they used a handy stool. When it became necessary for you
to put away some dishes at the end of the evening, you inquired from your uncle where the safety
ladder was. He said that it was stored at the end of the restaurant and you should use the stool like
everyone else as he wanted to get off quickly to go gambling. Reluctantly, you did so – with
disastrous consequences. The stool was a bit rickety and because of this you fell, breaking your right
arm very badly. In great pain, you were rushed to hospital and were put into plaster. As a result of
this you could no longer work at the restaurant and, even more upsetting, were unable to play in a
tennis competition which carried a prize of £100.
About a week after the accident you had a letter from the restaurant saying that they were very
sorry about your accident and enclosing a full week’s salary plus £100 in compensation. At the time,
you were very pleased and wrote to thank them, but after a while you found that your tennis game
was not the same. Also, you heard from a fellow student who had also worked at the restaurant that
they had been in trouble with accidents at work before. Thinking that they should not be able to ‘get
away with it’ you decided to approach a solicitor for advice. You want as much compensation as you
can get, but don’t want to get your uncle in trouble.
What you tell the solicitor
At first you will concentrate on the facts which are in your favour – the fact that you were told to use
the stool, that it was rickety, your injuries, the damages you have suffered (losing the job and the
prize money), the information that the restaurant had been in trouble before. You will be indignant
and keen to ensure that justice is done. Although you will not lie or lead the interviewer on wild
goose chases, you are very reluctant to reveal your uncle’s involvement in the accident (and hence
might also be a bit cagey about revealing how you got the job). You may volunteer the information
regarding the £100 compensation if at all relevant, but do not have the letter from the restaurant
with you. If pushed, you will want to save your uncle’s job rather than get more compensation