A former Epicurean employee has lost her unfair dismissal case after the Industrial Court ruled that the supermarket acted lawfully when it fired her for misusing its staff loyalty card programme.

In a decision delivered on May 22, the court found that Narshebar Richards, a bag carrier and packer, breached company rules by accepting customer loyalty points on her staff card, despite having previously signed documents warning that the practice was fraudulent and could result in dismissal.

The case stemmed from an investigation in January 2015 that revealed points valued at EC$47.38 had been credited to Richards’ loyalty card from customer transactions. Richards admitted that on one occasion a customer offered her loyalty points instead of a cash tip.

The court rejected her argument that the customer’s consent made the transaction acceptable, ruling that a customer could not override the terms of an employee’s contract. It also dismissed claims that the penalty was disproportionate because of the small value involved, finding that the issue was one of trust and integrity rather than the amount of money.

Although the court noted shortcomings in Epicurean’s investigation, including its failure to produce video footage related to some of the transactions, it ruled that the admitted incident alone was sufficient to justify dismissal.

The court concluded that Epicurean had reasonable grounds to believe Richards committed misconduct, conducted an adequate investigation, and acted reasonably in terminating her employment.