An employee of McDonald’s was fired for gross misconduct after she gave a coworker extra chocolate topping on a 99 cent McFlurry. The employee, Sarah Finch, sued the restaurant at an employment tribunal in the United Kingdom after he bosses accused her of handing out food without receiving payment, according to The Telegraph.
The claim, which was for unfair dismissal, was settled outside of court and Finch was awarded a little over £3,000 in compensation.
In a statement, Finch said the following: “I was dismissed on the grounds of gross misconduct. I was accused of stealing food. The matter was trivial, in that I provided a fellow employee, who was purchasing a dessert, a generous sprinkling of chocolate pieces. There is no standard for such measures – they are always imprecise and will vary among customers. My colleague had asked me: ‘Make it a nice one’. So the measure I gave erred on the side of more than, rather than less than, the mean.”
Finch was making £180 per week at the McDonald’s in Carmarthen, West Wales. She had been employed at that restaurant for 18 months. The unfair dismissal claim was filed against franchise company Lonetree, which runs multiple McDonald’s restaurants.
After the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service was added to the case, both parties came to an agreement outside of court on a settlement. The solicitor for Finch, Darren Newman, said, “With the assistance of ACAS we have reached a resolution – the tribunal is being withdrawn and there is no additional mention of liability. The parties have agreed not to disclose any more information apart from that the issue has now been resolved.”
Finch hails from Kidwelly, West Wales. She is studying for A-levels in physics, chemistry and biology. She was described as an “exceptional employee” prior to her being fired. McDonald’s will provide Finch a good reference as part of the settlement. In a statement, a spokesperson for the franchise said, “This matter has now been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. The Employment Tribunal case has been withdrawn. No admission of liability was made.”