A STUDENT is to take one the UK’s biggest firms to court after they warned staff they must speak English.

Stuart Horton, 47, quit his job at Domino’s over a notice warning staff they must speak in English or face disciplinary action.

Now he says his studies at Blackburn College have inspired him to take the pizza giant to industrial tribunal.

Stuart said he felt he had to stand up for colleagues who spoke English as a second language.

He said his job as a team leader was made much more difficult when staff couldn’t make quick checks with each other in their own language.

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He said: “There wasn’t any issue because English was spoken by everybody the vast majority of the time. It was just the odd occasion when a team member might not understand a word. Then they might say ‘what’ or ‘what is that’ to each other.

“I worked there for five years and I had no problem with it. I picked up a bunch of phrases in Eastern European and Asian languages and understood everybody pretty well.

“When the sign went up it just made everything more difficult and I was totally against it.”

Before taking up a management role in the food industry he worked as a government enforcement officer.

After quitting his job at the branch in Blackpool Road, Ashton, Preston last winter, Stuart took up studies at Blackburn College with a foundation degree in Community Policing and Justice Management.

He said his teachers and his studies had now been inspired him to take up the legal fight.

He said: “My teachers are really supportive. They tell me that if I believe in this I must act and change it. I’d like to go into law or teaching after this is all over.”

A spokesperson for Domino’s Pizza Group PLC said: “To ensure a good flow of communication in our stores, the use of a common language is condoned at work to avoid confusion and to create a more welcoming environment.

“It is also paramount that all safety aspects are adhered to and for this reason a common language is vital. The tone of the poster in question was a little strong and this was addressed directly with the franchisee.”