How much can a bottle of water cost? For one Lidl employee, rather more than 17p.

Adrian Fryer

In Oxborough v Lidl, Mr Oxborough had worked at Lidl for more than 10 years when a customer arrived at his till with a bottle of water taken from a multipack. It had no barcode, so the customer swapped it for a bottle that could actually be scanned, leaving the original behind.

Later in his shift, Mr Oxborough drank from the abandoned bottle and used some of it to top up his own drink. Why? He said he was dehydrated. And why not drink what was already in his own bottle? He had made his squash too strong. Mr Oxborough believed the water could simply be written off. Unfortunately, Lidl had a different view. The correct procedure was for the bottle to be written off by a manager and donated to charity. Mr Oxborough neither paid for it nor asked for it to be written off.

CCTV was checked. An investigation followed. Mr Oxborough was dismissed for gross misconduct. All over 17p worth of water. Perhaps surprisingly, the Employment Tribunal found the dismissal fair.

The point was not really the 17p. Lidl had a zero-tolerance approach to theft, Mr Oxborough had received recent training, the relevant procedures were well known and the company had investigated before deciding what to do. The tribunal stressed that its job was not to decide whether it would have dismissed him, but whether dismissal was within the range of reasonable responses open to Lidl.

So, the employment law lesson for the month? Sometimes 17p really can cost you your job. And, perhaps, always go easy on the squash.

Contact Adrian Fryer, Senior Partner and Head of Employment.