A long-serving employee of Sainsbury’s, Niamke Doffou, faced dismissal from his position at the Romford Sainsbury’s Superstore in East London for a controversial incident involving shopping bags.
Mr. Doffou, who had been with the supermarket chain since 2003, got into hot water in 2022 after a night shift shopping spree where he failed to pay for ‘bags for life’ he used to carry his purchases.
After acquiring goods including food, bedding, and pillows worth approximately £30 for guests visiting his home, Doffou, by error or oversight, selected the ‘zero bags used’ option at the self-checkout despite availing himself of several bags, each priced at 30p to 65p.
Although he claimed fatigue and unawareness of his actions due to the late hour, CCTV footage captured multiple instances of Doffou taking the bags without proper payment. This misconduct caught the attention of Sainsbury’s management, leading to a disciplinary meeting.
The resulting decision was the termination of Niamke Doffou’s employment on grounds of loss of trust, with the company deeming his actions as a breach of integrity and trustworthiness.
During the subsequent employment tribunal, presided over by Eleena Misra K.C, the judge ruled in favor of Sainsbury’s, upholding the dismissal of Mr. Doffou based on findings of dishonesty and theft.
The BBC reached out to Sainsbury’s for additional comments, to which the supermarket chain declined, citing adherence to the tribunal’s verdict.
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