Fired by lie detector! Delivery driver loses job over lost iPhones

A DELIVERY driver has been sacked after his firm made employees take a lie detector test when a package of iPhones went missing – even though his results were ‘inconclusive’.

Interlink Express put 16 employees through the tests in a bid to find the culprit after two iPhones were thought to have been taken in the run-up to Christmas.

Driver John Butcher did not get clear results – but was fired by the company three days after the test.

The 46-year-old said yesterday: ‘I think this is disgraceful. They are a multi-million pound company. They shouldn’t treat people like this. I’ve been doing this job for more than 20 years and I’ve never stolen anything in my life.’

Mr Butcher, who started working for Basildon-based Interlink just six months ago after stints with several other delivery firms, claimed he is still owed £1,500 in unpaid wages.

The stepfather of two, from Chelmsford in Essex, added: ‘My boss, Paul, just said he was letting me go. He told me the results were inconclusive and that was that – he was adamant that I was the thief. I was so mad.’

Describing the test, he said: ‘I had nothing to lose, so I agreed to do it. I was still nervous though – who wouldn’t be? It was such a terrible feeling. It lasted about 20 minutes and only consisted of a couple of questions.

‘They just asked me simple things like did I take the phones, was the reason for me chopping and changing companies in the past because I had a history of thieving, and so on.

‘I had little pads on my fingers and feet and blood pressure pads on my arms. I also had wires on my chest – it was like something out of a detective film.’

Mr Butcher was fired on December 3, but was back in work later that week, joining another firm, UK Mail.

Paul Riggs, his former boss at Interlink, said: ‘Unfortunately John couldn’t complete the lie detector test; he avoided answering certain questions and couldn’t sit still.

‘It’s not usually something we do, but when you’ve got iPhones going missing, I felt we didn’t have any other choice.’

Lie detectors monitor a person’s reactions while they are asked questions, such as blood pressure and sweating, which can be signs of lying – but how reliable they are is questionable.