‘Dehydrated’ Lidl worker sacked for drinking 17p bottle of water
A Lidl worker was sacked from her job for drinking a 17p bottle of water while working at the till because she felt “dehydrated”, an employment tribunal has heard.
Julian Oxborough, who served Lidl at its Wincanton store for more than a decade, later had his unfair dismissal claim dismissed by the court.
The incident occurred on July 19, 2024, when Mr. Oxborough was serving a customer who wanted to purchase a bottle of water from a multipack that did not have a barcode. The customer replaced it with a barcoded bottle, leaving the original at the register. Later that day, Mr Oxborough drank from the discarded bottle and used it to top off his own drink as he continued to serve customers.
The next day, a store manager found the bottle near the register and suspected a violation of company policy. Following a review of CCTV footage, Mr Oxborough was summoned to a meeting and suspended from duty until an investigation into the allegations of gross misconduct was completed.
During the inquest, Mr Oxborough stated that he had become dehydrated during his shift and was concerned for his health, making his personal gourd drink too strong to consume. He stated that when he saw that there was only one bottle of water in the canteen without a receipt, he believed that the multi-pack bottle could be cancelled.
When asked about payment, he admitted: “No, I think I might have forgotten or I really can’t remember to pick it up.” He also claimed he had forgotten to delete the item at the end of his shift, claiming he was in a rush and had no intention of committing fraud, but later admitted this was false. Mr Oxborough later described his dismissal as a “massive overreaction”.
But area manager Karina Moon, who oversaw the disciplinary process, told the hearing that Mr Oxborough had made inconsistent statements about his intention to buy or delete the water. He also questioned why he didn’t prefer tap water. Ms Moon stressed Mr Oxborough had four days to come forward after the incident but failed to do so. It concluded that the applicant was aware of the correct procedures and that there was no assurance that his conduct would not be repeated, leaving no viable alternative to summary dismissal for gross misconduct.
In court, Mr Oxborough reiterated that he had no dishonest intentions, attributing his actions to being tired, stressed, hot, dehydrated, unwell, worried about catching Covid from his partner and rushing to catch the bus at the end of his shift.
An Employment Tribunal in Southampton subsequently upheld Lidl’s decision and Employment Judge Yallop dismissed Mr Oxborough’s claims, including unfair dismissal.
A spokesperson for Lidl commented: “We would never take the decision to dismiss a long-serving colleague lightly and the court has confirmed that our actions were fair and followed a thorough process. As a retailer, maintaining a consistent zero-tolerance approach to the consumption of outstanding stock is crucial to our operations and ensures everyone across the business follows clear rules.”
