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| Photo: roboppy, Flickr |
A 34-year veteran of the Westfalen Construction Association in Dortmund, Germany, was fired after eating a burger from her boss's lunch cart.
The 59-year-old secretary, Magdelene H. (her last name was withheld due to German privacy laws), was fired after eating a frikadelle (flat, pan-fried meatball) and two halves of a roll without permission from a buffet she had just finished preparing last July for her boss and his guests, Spiegel reports.
A co-worker realized some of the food was missing and notified Magdelene's boss. When the boss asked about the missing items, Magdalene came clean.
"She was of the opinion that her behavior was acceptable," said her lawyer Wolfgang Pinkepank. "Bread rolls and burgers left over after conferences are always given to employees to eat." Magdalene had taken the sandwich beforehand, succumbing to a hunger pang.
Because the company refused to reverse Magdalene's abrupt firing, the case has found its way to the local labor court.
"Outwardly this of course seems like a trifling matter," the company's managing director, Hermann Schulte-Hiltrop, told Bild. "This is a highly sensitive case. When you lose your trust in someone you are left with a bad feeling."
The case will be fully reviewed in January 2010.
[Via Bild and Spiegel Online]
10-09-2009 @10:38PM Bernie B said... "When you lose your trust in someone you are left with a bad feeling."
Exactly. Why should the person doing all the work to get your buffet set up be privileged to any of the food? Actually, they probably just wanted to fire her for any number of reasons and this was just an easy excuse.
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10-10-2009 @7:05AM L. Lewis said... She should be reinstated and apologized to!
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10-10-2009 @7:04AM Lara said... Why would the boss have lost trust in the secretary for making a hmaburger from the lunch cart? She admitted to it, so told the truth. Is this stealing? Yes. It is justified? Yes. The secretary should have been welcome to eat from the cart. This reminds me of the firing of a grocery store worker who took a pack of gum from inventory that was being thrown in the trash as stale. Small minds, small people.
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10-10-2009 @7:09AM kristine said... It is a sad day when a piece of dead cow meat has more value than a human being .
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10-10-2009 @7:17AM Leon said... Let me get this straight - She prepared the "buffet" for the "boss". Was this boss done with it, fed and sated? If he was, and she was removing it for "disposal", what is the fuss? The "boss" is (I have no polite word for it) a "putz". (If you are familiar with Yiddish, you know what I mean.)
If she was bringing the food in BEFORE the buffet, then as she prepared it and arranged it on the cart, who was to know what she prepared unless it came in from some catering company.
The person who made the comment about "missing food", did this life-form go hungry because of it? Or was the snitching a way to get back at Magdalene H. for being efficient and maybe a bit officious ar her job? The snitch should be "grilled" about the reasin for the snarky comment about the food, knowing who prepared the buffet.
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10-10-2009 @7:27AM Beebee said... At least he knew the food was safe to eat. I'd hate to think about what the next food preparer does to the food. And yeah, looks like an excuse to fire an old person.
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10-10-2009 @7:32AM Melanie said... I agree with Bernie B "they probably just wanted to fire her for any number of reasons and this was just an easy excuse"...but it doesn't surprise me that this "Adolf" mentality still exists in Germany. The "boss" should be fined or somehow reprimanded for his actions and the secretary reinstated. As for the co-worker who reported this "unforgivable crime", if I were the boss, I'd be watching out for THAT person...If the co-worker was looking for "brownie points", I'd tell him/her where to stick HIS/HER head. This co-worker probably took home a pencil or two during his/her tenure! Enjoy your lunch...ya fat bast*rd!
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10-10-2009 @8:49AM bri said... Ok, so first off people who are advertsing for lame websites, just stop, only the most DESPERATE person would do that. Now about the article. Why would anyone do that?! If the boss knew this woman was a good worker, (and she obviously was if she had been there for 34 YEARS!!!), why would he fire her? Just for eating a hamburger?! It's incredible! A peice of dead animal is more important than a human being who had been working there for 34 years! It's very sad, and I feel sorrow for this woman.
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10-10-2009 @7:55AM mary said... what a lousy boss. and who the hell counts food on a cart and reports some missing but a real creap.
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10-10-2009 @8:06AM Jim said... That's just plain assinine - if she didn't eat some of the leftovers, somebody else WOULD! Then what would they do, fire the whole office? What jerks.
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10-10-2009 @8:20AM D said... Sounds like the boss wants a hot new secretary. At least he could have found a more believable reason to fire her.
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10-10-2009 @8:36AM mary dee said... I think its ridiculous becuase of all the years she put in, and she sat up the buffet, maybe she was really hungry. I hope her boss feels good about his decision over a hamburger. My boss would have said "why don't you have some chips and coke, geez, you worked so hard on this, and thanks"
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10-10-2009 @8:29AM big dummy said... Does hot new sexatery come to mind, let his fat butt go fix his own buffett next time, I am sure the hotty would not want to break a nail.
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10-10-2009 @8:31AM Mary said... This is sad and embarrassing to this lady and the person who was a little snitch should be the one taken care of! Who knows they probably wanted her job! For something as trivial as a hamburger!! Wow this world is just sad and wrong in cases such as these!! God knows there are more important things in life then this story, although this story just goes to show how little the rich are to begrudge a employee of 34 years something to eat from the rich table is...........wow I don't even have a word for this!
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10-10-2009 @11:01PM Debbie said... to even comment on this pathetic situation is beneath me, but i'll say this, it befits a culture like Germany to have someone fire a employee over rediculous matters even she was employed for 34 days. i hope the good Lord does a number on the tattle taler and the Boss. disgusting. the court will not be smart about this case either...i'm willing to bet.
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10-10-2009 @8:39AM Birch Barlow said... You people are missing the point. She was told to prepare food. Spiegel's report says she ate the food shortly after preparing it, which tells me it wasn't a leftover. Suppose the boss asked for 10 burgers while entertaining 6 clients. She eats 1, deciding that it will be a leftover anyway. That deprives his clients of the opportunity for a 2nd burger. Seems silly, but they didn't OFFER her that food. She admitted that hunger pangs got the best of her, so she took it. Look at it THIS way; a company offers used computers to its employees when they become outdated and get replaced. Secretary needs a new computer NOW, so she simply takes one home and tells the boss to order a new one. Still sound trivial?
Theft is theft, regardless of value.
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10-10-2009 @8:39AM Shirl said... you are all missing the point.... she is a 59 year old woman..... not a 29 year old woman..... the food was just a ploy to get her fired...Litigation would be so much easier if the secretary had to sue because of ageism.
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10-10-2009 @8:47AM Dawn said... Sounds like he wanted a younger secretary! Quoted lame excuse>> "This is a highly sensitive case. When you lose your trust in someone you are left with a bad feeling." What the f***! You'd think after 34 years of service she deserves a darn frikadelle from the boss's lunch cart!! You can tell a lot about a person's character by the way they treat their staff. Wonder how he treats his mother! Sad...
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10-10-2009 @8:48AM seekit1 said... Well it does not surprise me ,The Boss must have in his family back ground someone who was a high ranking Nazi ,and used the money that person had made to be in the position that he is in.And haves the additude that all enployees are dirt beneath his feet.Give them the garbage after his group is done with it.And the one that had everything counted and reported that so little was messing, that indeed is a very good Slave and Serves the master well.But then again if you hirer a Caterer to cater a afair you would not want the Caterers enployees eating the food.
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10-10-2009 @8:56AM bob said... The real mistake here is the executive perk. The company is owned by stockholders. But somehow, the bosses have decided that the stockholder should buy the boss a meal.
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