Sainsbury’s dismissed a long-term employee after he took home a Bag for Life from the checkout without paying for it, an employee tribunal has heard.
Niamke Doffou, who has worked for Sainsbury’s for 20 years, was sacked after selecting “zero bags used” at the self-service checkout following his £30 shop, reported The Telegraph.
Doffou was then brought in for a disciplinary investigatory meeting in front of bosses who fired him following a review of CCTV footage of the alleged theft of the bags – which are sold for either 30 or 65p – claiming that Sainsbury’s could no longer trust him.
The tribunal, which has gained signifant social media attention, was told: “[The disciplinary hearing chairman] formed the view that he had deliberately selected the zero bags option on the self-checkout, knowing full well he would need some to put his bulky shopping in.
“This in turn, she concluded, meant that [Sainsbury’s] could no longer have trust in [Mr Doffou] as an employee, even if the bags did not cost as much as his shopping had.”
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Despite claiming that he was “tired and unaware of what he was doing”, Doffou’s claim of unfair dismissal was thrown out by a judge who ruled his excuse was not “credible” and that it was “hard to argue” with Sainsbury’s decision to sack him on account of gross misconduct.
Employment judge Eleena Misra KC added: “Having considered all of the evidence before me I concluded that the claim for unfair dismissal is not well founded and is therefore dismissed.
“The CCTV footage and receipt clearly proved to [Sainsbury’s] that [Mr Doffou] took ‘bags for life’ without paying for them. [Sainsbury’s] carried out a reasonable and proportionate investigation into the alleged conduct and he was given a full opportunity to respond. [Mr Doffou]’s explanations were not deemed to be credible explanations.”
