Can you get fired over a slice of cheese? Apparently so, if you work at McDonald's!
The waitress was fired last March after she sold a hamburger to a co-worker who then asked for cheese, which she added.
The fast-food chain argued this turned the hamburger into a cheeseburger, and so she should have charged more.
The fired employee sued, and won:
The fast-food chain had argued that the waitress - who was employed at a branch in the northern town of Lemmer - had broken staff rules prohibiting free gifts to family, friends or colleagues.
But the court said in its written judgement: "The dismissal was too severe a measure. It is just a slice of cheese," reports AFP news agency.
But if I let them cut the cheese I'm just not going to be as hungry anymore.
I still eat way to much of them though.
Was this a... SENSIBLE COURT DECISION?!
I never thought I'd see the day!
In some cases the employers were found right.
I really really really hate this kinda stuff.
In the US, typical employee codes of conduct state the rules, as well as the consequences for breaking them. (Usually, those consequences are "disciplinary action, up to and including firing."
And, frankly, the employee broke the rule, and should not have been fired, IMO. But the company had every right to fire the employee, and the court shouldn't force them not to.
The problem is: where do you draw the line? If one employee does this, it is ok, but what happens if every McD employee does it, every day, for several years?
Btw how do they cook their burgers these days? I noticed there are no grills anymore. Their burgers are never warm enough.
They still grill the burgers just not on the big flat grill you used to be able to see while standing in line. Now they use sort of a giant panini grill that cooks the meat from top and bottom at the same time to speed up the cook time.
They should have just said dont give away free cheese anymore or made her pay for it instead of firing her but its their restaurant and they can fire her if they want. Im not sure why you're allowed to sue your employer if you break their rules and get fired for it.