An Iceland worker has been awarded over £3,000 after she was fired for eating a Cadbury's Twirl bar from a multi-pack.
Sharon Cassidy was caught on CCTV opening on a £1 pack of five without paying for it, reports The Mirror.
She successfully sued the company after claiming she opened the pack of Twirls because it belonged to a member of staff, arguing that employees often eat each others food.
Miss Cassidy began her role at Iceland as a part-time sales assistant from 2004 in the supermarket's Paisley, Renfrewshire store in Scotland.
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Yet, the incident occurred in 2019 after the employment tribunal in Glasgow heard that when a duty manager took over from Miss Cassidy they found an open five-pack of single wrapped Twirls with only one left.
With one pack of Twirl's costing £1, each bar would be worth 20p.
However, when senior supervisor Margaret Paterson went over to check the CCTV cameras, the hearing was informed that Miss Cassidy was seen to be handing over one of the treats to a customer's child in a buggy.
It was also said that Miss Cassidy was later seen going to the checkout till, where she looked to be eating something.
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Miss Cassidy was then investigated by Iceland for taking an item from the store without paying for it.
She confessed to handing over the chocolate to a customer's child and eating one herself, however, she remained certain that the multi-pack belonged to another member of staff.
Miss Cassidy said: “We're always eating each other's food... it's not uncommon for sweets to be left at tills”.
The tribunal concluded that the incident was not properly investigated and Miss Cassidy was unfairly dismissed.
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The tribunal said: "Miss Cassidy argues there was no reasonable basis on which Iceland could have formed a belief that she knew the items in question were the property of the company, and therefore guilty of theft.
"The item did not appear to be stock: the packet was open and sweets were missing from the packet; it had not been half priced; it was not on a shelf or a topper; or hanging up with other stock.
"[It was] not established that Miss Cassidy knew the items were stock, and it was not reasonable to assume Miss Cassidy knew or ought to have known the items were stock."
Employment Judge Muriel Robison said: "I have found in this case that Iceland failed to properly investigate the misconduct before making the decision to dismiss.
Miss Cassidy was subsequently awarded £3,010 for unfair dismissal.
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LADbible have contacted Iceland for comment.
Topics: Food And Drink, UK News
Anish Vij