The man worked a Sunday shift, for which Ikea provides one meal voucher worth € 2.50. This was communicated in a newsletter. Previously, the vouchers were handed out, but later it was decided that employees had to collect them at the staff reception. However, the man took out a receipt at both 12:00 and 16:00.
When confronted with this, the employee denied. However, the incident was caught on camera and then shown to the man. The man then claimed that he had obtained the second receipt for a colleague. However, he subsequently denied this. The coupon collector was then fired. He then went to court.
The judge acknowledges that the fired man tells an inconsistent story, but still finds in his favor. He ruled that there was no urgent reason for immediate dismissal. In order to do this, it should be perfectly clear that getting more than one receipt will result in immediate dismissal.
However, it cannot be established that the employee has read the newsletter, nor does it say that employees are not allowed to collect receipts for each other. The dismissal was therefore too severe a sanction. The dismissal was reversed, forcing Ikea to continue paying the employee’s salary for four months. Ikea does not have to renew the contract afterwards, because the employment relationship is disrupted.