A MAN WHO was fired from his job at a warehouse for eating a jam tart has lost his appeal to have his dismissal declared unfair.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal ruled that Keelings Logistics Solutions in Co Dublin conducted an exhaustive investigation and ruled that the man’s dismissal was “fair and proportionate”.
The hearing was told that one evening in the warehouse, the security manager said he saw “suspicious behaviour” from two employees – one of them the worker in this case – standing beside a cage.
The worker moved away from the cage and the security manager said he could see that he and his colleague were eating something. They went back a short time later and were seen putting their hands in the cage.
The witness told management and it emerged that a box containing jam tarts had been tampered with and two individual tarts were missing from a packet.
When questioned by management about the incident, the workers claimed his colleague was eating a Mars bar and he shared it with him. He said the second time they went to the cage, his co-worker was showing him a video on his phone.
An investigation followed and the man was dismissed, though he remained adamant that he had done nothing wrong.
In its decision, the tribunal said that the worker’s evidence was “not credible” and on the balance of probability found that he did, in fact, tamper with the stock.
The Tribunal finds that there were no procedural defects which would render the dismissal unfair. The investigation, disciplinary meetings and appeal were thorough, fair and objective.
It pointed out that a zero tolerance policy is in place to ensure the trust is not damanged between the warehouse and the stores it dispatches to. It also said the warehouse has placed vending machines on the shop floor to prevent staff from tampering with and eating the stock.
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