Unfairly dismissed for stealing a sausage roll
Recipe for disaster
Yvonne Hough (H) had worked at Bake-away, a small bakers owned by Lynn Pinder (P), for over 20 years. Staff at the bakery were able to buy food with a staff discount.
If an employee didn’t have the correct money on them, there was an IOU system in place. All tabs had to be settled by the end of the week.
Funeral food
On 10 June 2019, as she was leaving work to attend a family funeral, H bought two sausage rolls. She was served by her colleague Lesley Ryan (R) who informed her that these items, with her staff discount, came to £1.20.
However, H only had £1 on her and handed this amount over.
Checking sales
Later P asked R if H had bought anything that day. R mentioned the two sausage rolls and said that 20p was still owed.
H came to work the next day but forgot to pay the additional 20p. Her oversight prompted P to review the bakery’s CCTV footage.
Telephone accusations
12 June was H’s day off. Nevertheless, P called her. She told H that the CCTV footage showed she had underpaid for two sausage rolls and, in her eyes, “thiswas theft” . H immediately hung up. P then texted H telling her to bring her “keys back tomorrow” when she would be given her wages.
No dismissal letter
H replied denying she was a thief, told P to take whatever money was owed out of her wages and asked P to provide her with a dismissal letter. P sent a dismissal letter stating that H had been dismissed for gross misconduct because she had deliberately paid the wrong amount for products. However, that letter was never received.
Tribunal claim
The tribunal found that H’s dismissal was unfair because P had made her mind up solely from watching the CCTV footage. There was no investigation. H was awarded £3,000 (see The next step ).
The tribunal also noted that P had no written disciplinary procedure place in place, contrary to the Acas Code of Practice (see The next step ). P admitted that she would only ever deal with disciplinary issues verbally. As a result, a 25% uplift was a applied to H’s compensation.
Tip. In the absence of a robust written disciplinary procedure, staff can’t know what to expect if they are accused of misconduct. They also won’t know what you will deem gross misconduct. More importantly, the employer will be unable to show that a fair procedure was followed meaning a 25% uplift can be applied to any award made.
Tip. Don’t accuse an employee of theft if they’ve part paid or offered to pay for an item. Instead, set out how they have breached your rules, e.g. not paid on time.
For the tribunal’s ruling in this case and a disciplinary procedure, visit https://www.tips-and-advice.co.uk , Download Zone, year 22, issue 18.
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