Southern Co-op worker fired after 'trying to be nice' by giving staff discount to pensioners
ITV News Meridian reporter Chlöe Oliver talks to former Southern Co-op worker John about why he got dismissed for using his staff discount card.
A Southern Co-op worker who "tried to be nice" and gave his employee discount to pensioners and a war veteran has been sacked.
John Burley, 65, was fired from the store, close to his home in Eastleigh, Hampshire, for "deliberate abuse" of his staff discount card which gave them 30% off Co-op branded items.
Mr Burley had been working there since May 2023 and claims he was never told it was against company policy.
He says he would have "stopped straight away" if he was given a verbal warning and now worries he will be unable to find a new job.
John Burley says he was just trying to do something nice for those most in need, but his employers Southern Co-op say he was deliberately abusing his staff discount card
The former store assistant says he lost his job right before his 65th birthday and spent both his birthday and Christmas without a job or any prospects.
He said: "I've offered them compensation for the money that was 'lost'...I pretty much bent down on one knee to apologise for doing wrong even through I didn't realise I was doing wrong at the time. If only one person had come up to me at the time to say you shouldn't be doing that, I would've stopped."
A spokesperson for Southern Co-op said: "After a thorough investigation, we reluctantly had to dismiss an employee for deliberate abuse of his staff discount card.
"The policy around the use of colleague discount is communicated clearly at the point of signing up to the scheme.
"We expect colleagues to respect the rules and our policy clearly states that a serious breach of the rules can be taken as an act of gross misconduct which can lead to dismissal."
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