The claimant was employed by the respondent café. On one of her shifts she was seen on CCTV taking a bottle of juice from a refrigerator while leaving the café premises. Upon returning the claimant began cleaning up without paying for the juice. Almost immediately after this the respondent confronted her about the incident. Although she subsequently paid for the drink, the claimant was given a letter asking her to attend a disciplinary hearing. She was later dismissed for gross misconduct.

The tribunal found that the conduct of the claimant in failing to pay for her drink before consuming it amounted to misconduct. However, the tribunal was critical of the ‘Staff Food and Drink Policy’ and how its contents were communicated to staff. Although the claimant accepted that the policy was on view on the fridge door it was clear that she did not expect that her actions would lead to instant dismissal. Further, the respondent failed to consider adequately the remedies available to it short of dismissal and failed to make sufficient allowance for the fact that this was the first offence of this nature. The tribunal held that the claimant was unfairly dismissed and awarded £1369.75 in compensation, although that had been reduced by 50% for contributory fault by the claimant.

Practical Lessons

The tribunal accepted that telling an untruth to the employer was a serious matter but acknowledged the claimant may well have been caught unaware. In particular, the tribunal felt that the ‘Staff Food and Drink Policy’ should have been sent to each employee individually. It was incumbent on the employer to ensure that each employee was aware of the new policy and the sanctions for failure to follow the procedure. This was especially true as it was only recently introduced and thus the respondent was expected to make staff aware of the new rules.

Although this was a café, this could equally apply to any newly introduced policy affecting employees. Had this policy clearly stated that the employee’s actions could amount to gross misconduct leading to dismissal, the outcome would probably have been different.
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