Posted: Friday 29 January 2010
Just A Slice Of Cheese!
Something a bit lighter for a Friday afternoon...... I noticed that the BBC has reported on a Dutch employment case involving unfair dismissal. A waitress in MacDonald’s was fired after giving a colleague a slice of cheese in a hamburger and not charging the slightly higher price for it being a cheeseburger. MacDonald’s claimed this breached rules relating to giving free gifts to colleagues.
Leeuwarden District Court in the Netherlands was not impressed with MacDonald’s actions, saying “The dismissal was too severe a measure. It is just a slice of cheese.” He did though consider that a written warning would have been appropriate.
Even though this was a Dutch case, employers should bear this judgment in mind: although each case is different, it pays to step back and look at the situation objectively. Dismissing a waitress over one slice of cheese does seem a bit over the top. It actually reminded me of a UK Tribunal case where I recall that an even harsher decision was taken. I will provide more details but I think that a long serving employee was invited to a presentation to mark their long service, had a couple of drinks and then was sacked on their return to their work station for drinking during working hours. Harsh! Hopefully it was found to be unfair but I will check and see and let you know.
