Shannon Gleeson was fired from her position as a flight attendant on mass UK carrier easyJet after eating a bacon sandwich given to her by her manager. Gleeson breeched company policy because she failed to ask for a receipt to ensure the goods were paid for, as they were meant for passenger consumption only. As a result she was sacked for gross misconduct and theft. Gleeson has a nut allergy, and was unable to find suitable food while travelling abroad for the first time.
At an employee tribunal, the panel heard she may have been wrongly dismissed because the company policy places no obligation on consumers to guarantee a receipt is given to them, and that there was no black-and-white policy given to staff regarding food consumption on flights. However Ross Fraser, the easyJet manager who dismissed Shannon, argued: “It doesn’t say it in black and white, but the expectation is there. There is regular communication to all of the cabin crew.”
A fellow cabin crew member alerted the company to the incident which occurred on the flight. Subsequently Gleeson and the cabin manager who provided the sandwich were called into question and following investigation, were both dismissed.
Gleeson maintained her innocence throughout the court proceedings, claiming “I am not a thief and that was what I was labelled as.”
The court was told there was no dispute that Gleeson has eaten the food and not paid for it herself, but failing to ask her manager for a receipt resulted in breaching company policy.
After apologising and offering to pay the $7 for the bacon baguette and croque monsieur, Gleeson, who had three years of unblemished service, was deemed an accomplice in the misconduct.
Shannon Gleeson with her mother.
The matter was eventually settled outside of court a year after the exchange initially happened for an undisclosed sum and Gleeson, who is now 18 weeks pregnant, declined to comment after the tribunal on the outcome.
