A SUPERMARKET MANAGER who was sacked for giving himself a discount on stale bakery goods that were due to be written off has been awarded over €17,500 for unfair dismissal.

Arkadiusz Grzyb had worked for Lidl for almost 10 years and was working as a deputy store manager when he was accused of manipulating the company’s “waste not” policy to steal bakery items in October 2020.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) heard that this policy provided for price reductions in respect of foods that were at their “best before” date.

It applied to meat products, but there was confusion among staff as to whether it also applied to bakery goods.

On two occasions, Grzyb purchased stale products from the in-store bakery at a discounted price of 20 cent each.

The full price of the items was €7.20 but they were due to be written off and disposed of.

He had closed the bakery 25 minutes early because the goods were stale and he wanted to allow staff to finish at 9:15pm. 

Grzyb said this was common practice in some of the other stores where he had worked.

He noted that there had been no economic loss to the company, and it had actually gained from his actions as he had paid for goods that would otherwise have been thrown out.

An investigation meeting took place in December 2020, at which Grzyb admitted to a number of cash management and inventory control procedures.

A subsequent disciplinary hearing found that he had breached procedures and concluded that there had been a fundamental breakdown of trust. He was dismissed on 15 March, 2021 and the decision was upheld on appeal.

In his submission to the WRC, the complainant claimed the conduct of his employer had been unreasonable as his actions had not constituted gross misconduct, and no regard had been given to his reasonable excuse.

He contended that the investigation had been adversarial and predetermined, and noted that he had been unaware that he was being accused of theft until he received the investigation report.

In her decision, WRC adjudication officer Davnet O’Driscoll said there had been little consideration in the process of Grzyb’s explanation for the breach of procedures or the evidence of other employees about the lack of clarity in the discounting practice.

His years of good service and the low value of the goods involved had also been overlooked. She also noted that no alternative to dismissal had been considered.

“In all circumstances, I find the sanction of dismissal does not come within the band of reasonable responses and is disproportionate,” said O’Driscoll.

She found that Grzyb had been unfairly dismissed but “undoubtedly contributed to his dismissal”. He was awarded compensation of €23,461 but this was reduced to €17,596 in view of his contribution to the outcome.

O’Driscoll also directed Lidl to pay the complainant €3,615 in respect of four weeks’ notice, bringing the total amount to €21,212.