Waitrose faces mounting backlash after sacking worker for tackling Easter egg thief as supermarket insists there is a ‘serious danger to life’ in confronting shoplifters
Customers have vowed to stop shopping at Waitrose after the supermarket chain sacked a worker who tackled a thief trying to steal Easter chocolate.
Walker Smith, who worked at London’s Clapham Junction branch for 17 years, claimed he was sacked by the retailer two days after confronting the “repeat offender” shoplifter after a customer told him someone had stuffed his bag with Easter eggs.
There was a brief scuffle between the pair before the bag was broken and Lindt Gold Rabbit Eggs, sold for £13 each, spilled onto the floor and broke into pieces.
Mr Smith’s bosses decided to sack him because staff were told not to approach the thieves.
Waitrose has since defended its decision, claiming there was a ‘serious danger to life’ in tackling thieves and that staff policies must be ‘strictly adhered to’.
But angry customers attacked the supermarket and vowed never to return to the store after Mr Smith was sacked.
“After firing your long-time employee for trying to stop a shoplifter, I’m afraid I will no longer be able to shop at your store… Disgusting decision,” one customer wrote.
‘You have been very unfair and as a result I will not shop in your stores anymore, this is outrageous!’ A second was added.
Waitrose store assistant Walker Smith, 54, was sacked after tackling a thief trying to steal luxury Easter eggs.
A third said: ‘I won’t shop at Waitrose anymore.’
The shoplifter, who Mr Smith said he knew was a repeat offender, fled the store after the clerk grabbed a piece of broken chocolate and threw it towards some carts “out of frustration”.
Although he insisted that he did not mean the thief, he was scolded by his manager and forced to apologize.
Meanwhile, his supervisor decided to escalate the incident, leading Mr Smith to plead with store managers to keep his job, saying Waitrose was like ‘family’.
His bosses decided to sack him as staff had previously been told not to approach thieves.
Other customers also reacted to the chain, saying the decision was ‘shameful’.
‘People should not be punished for standing up for what is right. @Waitrose doesn’t need to rehire Walker Smith right away. One wrote that they should apologize to Walker, who served for 17 years and considered Waitrose “family”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp wrote to the company’s chief executive Tom Denyard calling for the worker to be reinstated.
He also called on Waitrose to give the 54-year-old a bonus “for his courage and initiative”, arguing that “sacking a long-serving employee in these circumstances sends the completely wrong message”.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: ‘The safety and security of our partners and customers could not be more important to us and we have policies in place to protect both.
The incident took place at the Waitrose store in Clapham Junction, south London, after Mr Smith was told someone had ‘filled a bag’ with eggs.
‘We have had incidents where our partners were hospitalized while challenging thieves. Luckily they always recovered, but that may not always be the case.
‘There is a serious danger to life in the fight against thieves. We refuse to put anyone’s life at risk and that’s why we have policies that are very clearly understood and must be strictly adhered to.
‘As a responsible employer, we would never want to be in a position to notify families of a tragedy because someone tried to stop the theft. Nothing we sell is worth risking lives.
‘Reports on this do not cover all the facts of the situation. While we will never be able to discuss a single case, we can be confident that the correct process was followed, including the standard appeal procedure.
‘We have been campaigning for some time to do more to protect store workers from criminals, including making retail crime a specific standalone offence.’
