GREGGS MANAGER SACKED FOR CROSSING OUT USE-BY DATES WINS CLAIM

Rosario Lino 'blocked out' the expiry dates on multiple Greggs food items
Bosses sacked her for preventing waste figures at the bakery from 'looking poor'

A Greggs manager who was sacked for crossing out food use-by dates with a black marker pen has won her claim for unfair dismissal.

Rosario Lino was hauled to a disciplinary hearing after a surprise inspection found tuna crunch and chicken mayo containers with their expiry dates 'blocked out'.

The site manager at the popular bakery chain claimed she had marked the items with marker pen to show staff which food needed throwing out.

But she was sacked by bosses who accused her of avoiding disposing of the food to cover her own back and prevent waste figures at the bakery branch in Braywick, Maidenhead, from 'looking poor'.

The Gregg's site manager sued her employers and her claim of unfair dismissal was upheld because of flaws in the disciplinary procedure. Although she was not handed any compensation as she was found to be 'culpable' for her dismissal.

The Manchester employment tribunal heard Ms Lino began working at the Braywick Greggs as a bakery assistant in 2015. After some four years, the Spanish employee was promoted to site manager.

The tribunal were presented with food safety documents which stated that any out of date stock must be removed and disposed of 'immediately'.

On 30 December 2020 a random food safety check was undertaken at the site by a regional manager.

The hearing was told he found chicken in a storage container without a label to show when it needed to be used by.

He also found a 'chicken mayo container' and a 'tuna crunch container' with use by dates that had been 'entirely blocked out using black marker pen'.

An additional package of lettuce - with a use by date of December 28 - also had the timestamp blocked out with black marker pen, although the date was still visible.

Employment Judge Phil Allen said: 'It was not in dispute that marking out-of-date food with a black marker was not part of [Greggs'] procedures.

'It was also not disputed by [Ms Lino] when it was put to her, that the matters identified might have resulted in the store being closed if they had been identified by inspectors.'

The site manager accepted that she had drawn the 'black pen marks' on the items but insisted she did so to indicate to employees that the food needed throwing out.

When asked why she did not 'simply throw the items away herself', Ms Lino said she had been busy with her workload and that she 'could not do everything'.

But, EJ Allen said the tribunal could not understand why the site manager 'would take the time required to mark the products rather than dispose of them herself'.

He added: 'We also did not understand why the mark for disposal would involve covering up the use by date.

'As a result, we found that [Ms Lino's] explanation lacked credibility and we did not accept that it was truthful.'

Ms Lino was invited to an investigatory meeting - which the site manager described as a 'persecution' - on February 5, and the 'serious breach of food safety' was put to her.

After this meeting, Ms Lino raised a grievance for several issues - including how she did not have a Spanish translator present at the initial hearing.

Then in March, in response to an invitation to a disciplinary hearing, Ms Lino wrote to Lisa Holt, a HR Business Partner, and offered an explanation to the blacked out dates.

She said she helped the supervisor 'out of courtesy' to do her job due to her lack of willingness and incompetence.

The site manager said she had told her supervisor to 'throw the out of date food that I had marked with a black pen away'.

She added: 'My duties were long so I left her to do what she is paid to do.

'I will point out that it is totally unreasonable for you to expect me to do the job of my supervisors and my own job all at the same time.

'That is all I have to say. There are no mitigating circumstances.'

Ms Lino attended the disciplinary hearing and responded 'no comment' to most questions. On April 2 2021, the site manager was dismissed.

In her conclusion, Ms Holt said: 'I believe that you crossed out the expiry dates to use the food items and reduce 'wastage' on site.

'This in return would have shown as the site not losing money due to food wastage.

'I believe this was done for personal gain to prevent your wastage figures from looking poor for the site.'

Ms Holt also emphasised that having out of date products on site could have resulted in serious harm to a customer's health.

The Gregg's site manager sued her employers and her claim of unfair dismissal was upheld by EJ Allen because of flaws in the disciplinary procedure.

Despite this, EJ Allen found that the site manager contributed to her sacking, by covering up the dates.

The employment judge said: 'As we have explained, we did not accept the claimant's evidence about why she crossed out the dates as having been truthful.

'We did not need to decide why she did it.

'Crossing out use-by-dates was not the respondent's policy.

'By marking the items and obscuring the dates the claimant was acting in breach of procedures.

'Her actions created a risk that products would be used after the use-by-dates had expired.

'That created a safety risk for the respondent and its customers.'

EJ Allen said Ms Lino was 'culpable and blameworthy' and contributed to her dismissal.

For this reason, her compensatory award was reduced by 100 per cent.

The site manager made other claims, of race discrimination and harassment, but these were not upheld.

2024-04-16T15:37:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd