Burger King worker given £30,000 in damages

A former Burger King cook who was sacked for taking home a fish sandwich, fries and a drink has been awarded $46,000 (£28,000) in damages. 

Usha Ram, 55, from Vancouver, had been finishing her shift on Boxing Day and had asked the store’s manager Tayyaba Salman if she could take home some food at the end of her shift as she’d forgotten her wallet.

Asking in Hindi, her native language, Usha, who has worked for the fast-food giant for 24 years, said: ‘Can I have a fish?’

According to court documents, store policy states that employees can have free drinks during their shift and a 50% discount on food.

Ms Ram claims she meant combo meal when asking for fish but Ms Salman interpreted it to mean a sandwich.

Ms Salman told the court there is no word for ‘sandwich’ in Hindi.

When Ms Ram walked out with a fish sandwich, medium fries and orange soda without paying, Ms Salman reported her to Mr Mohammed.

She was then accused of stealing and told to go home, despite her offering to pay for the food.

But that was taken as an admission of theft, according to Mr Mohammed, and she was fired shortly after.

In her ruling, Justice Lisa Warren found that the employers acted in an ‘unreasonable, unfair and unduly insensitive manner’ and should have considered that Ms Ram would have difficulty finding another job because of her age, limited education and English skills.

She said: ‘Had he [Mr Mohammed] simply turned his mind to the specific words that Ms Salman said Ms Ram used when she asked to take the food..’

‘Or the fact that Ms Ram made no attempt to conceal what she was doing, he would likely have appreciated the significant possibility of a misunderstanding between Ms Ram and Ms Salman.’

At the time of her dismissal, in January 2014, she was earning $21,000 a year and working full-time.

Her husband is physically disabled and she also supports a daughter with a mental disability.

The judge ordered franchise co-owners, Mr Mohammed and Michael Lacombe, to pay her $21,000 in damages or the equivalent of one-year severance.

The judge also awarded her $25,000 in aggravated damages for emotional distress.

Source: http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/17/burger-king-worker-sacked-for-taking-fish-sandwich-home-given-30000-in-damages-6454132/