Deli worker ‘unfairly dismissed’ for taking oven cleaner

A deli worker at a Co Meath service station was unfairly dismissed for taking two spoonfuls of oven cleaner in a coffee cup home with her, a tribunal has ruled.

In a ruling by the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) published yesterday, it ordered that Madara Cebina receive €13,180 from XL Fuels Group Ltd after finding that the Latvian worker was unfairly dismissed.

In evidence at a hearing in Trim, Co Meath, Ms Cebina said she put two spoonfuls of oven cleaner from the tub used in the store into a takeaway cup which she brought home with her.

She said she took a lift home with her supervisor and told her what was in the cup. A short time later she said her supervisor phoned and said the owner wanted to know what she had in the cup.

Ms Cebina said that she then received a call from an administrative assistant at the firm who told her that she should not report for work.

Ms Cebina said she asked her colleague did she mean the following day or for forever, and her colleague responded “forever”.

The worker said she asked if it was because of the oven cleaner and her colleague agreed it was.

Ms Cebina, who worked at the garage from June 2010 to October 2013, offered to pay for the cleaner and told the tribunal that she was “very shocked”.

After the conversation with the administrative assistant, Ms Cebina then contacted the firm for her P45 and collected it the following Tuesday.

The firm contended that Ms Cebina requested her P45 and left of her own accord.

Giving evidence at the hearing, the firm’s administrative assistant said the owner came to her office and asked if she could do without Ms Cebina on the roster if he took her off.

The assistant confirmed to Ms Cebina that she was being taken off the roster and agreed that it was because of the oven cleaner.

She said she did not know if Ms Cebina was being permanently removed from the roster or being suspended.

The owner did not appear at the hearing to give evidence.

In its ruling, the tribunal found that it is clear the firm, through its owner, had made a decision to remove Ms Cebina from the roster for the foreseeable future without clarifying to her, as was its responsibility, that she would be subject to an investigative or disciplinary meeting.

The tribunal said “this clarification could have been by letter, email or even text message. In such circumstances the tribunal finds that the claimant was dismissed”.

It found the dismissal was unfair and said “in particular, even if the minor infraction in relation to the oven cleaner was going to be considered for sanction, there should have been a transparent process in accordance with fair procedures. This did not happen”.

The tribunal awarded Ms Cebina €12,500 for the unfair dismissal and €680 for two weeks of pay under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act.