A NEW fish and chip shop worker beat up a long-standing fellow staff member in a dispute over workloads, York Magistrates' Court heard.

Richard Plummer, 32, knocked the other employee to the floor by hitting him in the face and landed two more punches to the head, said Kathryn Walters, prosecuting.

The victim required stitches to his lip and dental treatment.

Plummer had worked at the fast food outlet for six months when he attacked an employee with 13 years service.

He was unhappy about their respective workloads, said Ms Walters.

Scarborough man Plummer appeared in court after being arrested on a bench warrant following his failure to attend an earlier hearing. He told the court he had no fixed address.

He pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm on October 2, 2022, in a beachside fish and chippie in Scarborough and failure to attend court. He was given a 12-month community order with 150 hours’ unpaid work. He must pay the victim £400 and £85 prosecution costs.

For Plummer, Siobhan White said he had lost his job immediately after the assault and now works in a factory.