Waitrose employee sacked after stopping shoplifter from taking Easter eggs | Business

A Waitrose employee of 17 years has spoken of her devastation after being sacked for stopping a burglar who looted a display case of Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.

Walker Smith, a shop assistant at a branch of Waitrose in Clapham Junction, south London, was carrying out her normal duties when a customer stopped her. “They told me someone had filled a Waitrose bag with eggs,” he said.

The 54-year-old man said the thief committed the same crime again. He said that after noticing the thief, he “snatched the bag” from the thief, and the thief took it back, and there was a struggle that lasted for a few seconds, and then the bag was torn off. Lindt Golden Rabbit Easter eggs retail They dropped for £13 each and the thief ran towards the exit. One of the rabbits was mauled, Smith said. He said he ripped off a piece of the broken rabbit and “threw it towards the shopping carts rather than pointing it at the thief out of frustration.”

He was reprimanded by his manager and apologized, but the matter escalated further. Smith said he had previously been told not to approach thieves, but seeing them get away with stealing prompted him to take action again and again. “I’ve been there 17 years. I’ve seen this happen every hour of every day for the last 5 years,” he said.

“There’s everyone from drug addicts to teenagers stealing small things or going out with bottles of wine in their arms. We’re not allowed to do anything.”

He said security at the store had been reduced and no guards were working on Mondays and Tuesdays because “thefts were not adequately reported.” This left non-security personnel, including Smith, on the front lines of the problem.

Despite this, Walker said he regretted his behavior. “When I got home I was punching myself and thinking, ‘Why did I do this?'” he said.

A few days later, Walker was called into a meeting with two store managers. “There was a sense of what was going to happen,” he said. He made a final plea to his bosses, saying “Waitrose is like my family,” but he was dismissed anyway.

“I tried to stay strong and didn’t say a word, but I was crying inside. They took me out the back door next to the trash cans. I felt demoralized,” she said. Walker was diagnosed with anxiety, which he said his managers were aware of.

He had recently moved into his own studio apartment after living with roommates for 25 years before he was kicked out. He worries about how he’ll keep a roof over his head. “I’m not really sure what’s going to happen in this place right now. I could be homeless. My confidence is on the ground right now,” he said.

“Waitrose is like my family. My friends are there. I’ve been there for 17 years, I must be doing something right. I’m not a bad, violent or aggressive person. I’m disappointed to see this every day and not to see Waitrose doing much about it.”

There has been an increase in theft in retail businesses, especially supermarkets. There were 519,381 shoplifting offenses in England and Wales by September 2025; This figure increased by 5% compared to 492,660 the previous year. Office for National Statistics.

These figures are well below the record levels seen in the 12 months to March 2025, when a total of 530,643 crimes were recorded.

In February, retail union Usdaw said workers were facing “unacceptable” levels of violence and abuse and that there was “evidence that two-thirds of attacks on retail workers are triggered by burglary or armed robbery”.

On Friday, Stuart Machin, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, called on the government and London’s mayor to crack down on retail crime, saying it was becoming “more brazen, more organized and more aggressive”.

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We take the safety and security of our customers and partners extremely seriously and have policies to do this that our partners are aware of and must comply with.

“As far as protection is concerned, we make absolutely sure that our stores have appropriate levels of protection, and this is constantly adjusted based on the level of risk.”