© REUTERS
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An employee of the Ikea store in Haarlem, the Netherlands, was fired on the spot for collecting an extra voucher. The subdistrict court judge now ruled that this was unjust and reversed the dismissal. Ikea has to continue to pay his salary.
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Bron: The Telegraph
Today at 15:17–
The man worked a Sunday shift, for which Ikea provides one meal voucher worth 2.50 euros. That was communicated in a newsletter. Previously, the vouchers were handed out, but later it was decided that employees had to collect them at the reception. However, the man took out a receipt at both 12 noon and 4 pm.
When confronted by the employee, he denied it. However, the incident was caught on camera and then shown to the man. The man then claimed that he had obtained the second receipt for a colleague. He denied that, however, and the coupon collector was fired. He then went to court.
The judge now acknowledges that the fired man tells an inconsistent story, but still finds in his favor. He considers that there is no urgent reason for immediate dismissal. In order to do that, it should be perfectly clear that getting more than one receipt results in immediate dismissal.
However, it cannot be established that the employee has read the newsletter, nor does it say that employees are not allowed to collect receipts for each other. The dismissal was therefore too severe a sanction. The dismissal was reversed, forcing Ikea to continue paying the employee’s salary for four months. Ikea does not have to extend the contract afterwards, because the employment relationship is disrupted.
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