In circumstances which may give a new meaning to the phrase “getting the sack”, a Sainsbury’s worker in England has been fired for taking several ‘bags for life’ without paying for them.
The employee, who worked as a night shift assistant for the Romford Sainsbury’s for nearly 20 years, was seen to have taken multiple bags whilst doing some shopping at the end of his shift during August 2022. Whilst his shopping amounted to no more than £30 in value, the employee had selected that no bags were used on the store’s self-service checkout. CCTV footage showed that this was not the case.
The employee was dismissed for theft and “acting dishonestly”. Upon taking the matter to Tribunal, the Tribunal found that Sainsbury’s had been within their contractual rights to terminate the employee’s employment.
This situation emphasises that employees must act honestly (and that seemingly ‘low level’ theft is sufficient for dismissal) and be aware of the terms of their contracts in case they fall foul of these, which could then result in the termination of their employment.
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