Worker sacked by luxury retailer for taking six cupcakes from bakery for nieces

Lansdowne House, the offices of the Workplace Relations Commission in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

An employee was sacked by luxury retailer Avoca for taking half-a-dozen cupcakes from its central bakery for his nieces because he believed the goods were about to be binned.

An adjudication hearing of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was told this afternoon that Denis Walsh had been seen removing the cupcakes from an area known as “the Christmas room” at its premises in Wicklow on September 10, 2022.

The incident was reported to management six days later, and Mr Walsh attended an investigation meeting on September 23, when he was shown CCTV footage of himself taking the baked goods.

He did not deny removing the cupcakes and claimed that they were about to be thrown out. He explained that he had taken them for his nieces, who he had not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Walsh said he had made no attempt to hide the fact that he was taking the cupcakes, and had run it by a Ukrainian colleague called Marie. However, it later transpired that her English was poor and she hadn’t understood the question.

Aleksandra Tiilikainen, representing Avoca Handweavers Shops Limited, told the WRC that Mr Walsh had been dismissed for gross misconduct, having been fully aware that theft could result in this sanction.

The employer had considered lesser sanctions but felt that trust had broken down with Mr Walsh, and argued that its decision to dismiss him had been entirely reasonable.

She denied that the cupcakes were about to be binned, asserting that they were fit for sale, and noted that there had been issues with shrinkage of stock and consequent financial loss at the premises.

In his opening statement, Mr Walsh’s representative Conor Kirwan said the key issue was not the removal of stock, but about what he described as the “flawed and unbalanced” process that followed.

He questioned why Mr Walsh had been allowed to continue working for three months before his dismissal in December 2022 if his actions had constituted gross misconduct.

Mr Kirwan said the “lengthy process” had been very stressful for Mr Walsh, and was “beyond reasonableness”. He also asked why he had not been suspended and why he had been paid notice if he was being dismissed for gross misconduct.

The WRC heard the evidence of Sarah Kennedy, Avoca’s business excellence manager, who had conducted the investigation into the incident involving Mr Walsh, and Emma O’Sullivan, who had conducted the subsequent disciplinary meeting.

They said Mr Walsh had been told that he could be accompanied to the meetings by any colleague from Avoca or the broader Aramark company, but they admitted under cross examination that he had not been advised that he could invite a trade union representative.

WRC adjudication officer, Michael McNamee, adjourned the hearing after representatives for the employer concluded their submissions. A date will now be set for Mr Walsh’s representatives to outline their complaint as the case continues.

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