A Lidl store manager who was fired after being caught giving himself a discount on stale bakery products has won almost £19k in an unfair dismissal case.
Arkadiusz Grzyb, who was employed at the supermarket for almost 10 years, was working as a deputy manager when he was accused of exploiting the retailer's “waste not” policy to steal bakery goods in October 2020.
The protocol allowed for price reductions on food that was at its 'best before' date, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) heard.
On two occasions, the plaintiff bought stale products from the store's bakery at a discounted price of 20 cent each, the Mirror reports.
The full price of the items was €7.20 but they were due to be written off and disposed of.
However, he had closed the bakery 25 minutes early because the goods were stale and he wanted to allow staff to finish at 9.15pm.
The deputy store manager said this was common practice in some of the other stores where he had worked.
Mr Grzyb noted that there had been no money lost 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 Mr Grzyb admitted to a number of cash management and inventory control procedures.
It applied to meat products, but there was confusion among staff as to whether it also applied to bakery goods.
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 March 15, 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 Mr 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 Ms O’Driscoll.
She found that Mr Grzyb had been unfairly dismissed but “undoubtedly contributed to his dismissal”.
He was awarded compensation of £20,371 but this was reduced to £15,278 in view of his contribution to the outcome.
Ms O’Driscoll also directed Lidl to pay the complainant £3,138 in respect of four weeks’ notice, bringing the total amount to £18,415.
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