Waitrose staff are reinstated after food scraps row
STAFF sacked for allegedly eating scraps of food destined for the bin in the kitchen of a Waitrose café have been given their jobs back.
The supermarket suspended 18 staff over accusations they were “stealing” leftovers.
Four workers at the chain’s branch in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, were sacked over the claims.
But the four have now been reinstated, while the suspended staff await to hear their fate.
It is understood that the four members of staff who were given their jobs back this week have been moved to different departments.
An online petition claims employees were “under harsh working conditions ... often missing breaks” and that managers were known to “bully” them.
The staff claim they were only eating food that was going to be thrown away at the store, which is part of the John Lewis chain.
Another Waitrose café worker, who declined to be named, added: “We ate scraps of food that were going to go in the bin such as chips that were too cold to serve and fruit that had gone past its best before date.
“We all received a letter which told us we had been suspended for breaking company policy and that they would carry out an investigation. We were escorted off the premises by staff. This was a very heavy-handed way to treat us.”
A Waitrose spokeswoman said the matter was “confidential” and rejected claims over working conditions mentioned in the petition.
She said: “Because this situation is confidential to the people involved we cannot make any comment. We are continuing our review and hope to resolve things as soon as we can. However, we can say categorically that we strongly disagree with the petition’s description of working conditions.”