To think that Birds the bakers were right to sack their employee?

[Sootikinstew]

Employee of something like 25years accepting cash from pensioners and paying for shopping on her own card.

Now I know it likely came from a good place and she was trying to be kind and helpful. But AIBU to think Birds were right to sack her. This scenario opens up her and Birds to all sorts of accusations and would surely come under fraud or money laundering rules?

I think Birds was wrong to refuse their money, they were old ladies and have probably been going there for years. Shame on them.

@Rose789

Can you imagine though a 90 odd year old who has came to buy bread everyday and has been served by this women for 40 years. Imagine turning her away because she doesn’t have a card. Plus customers will have already have touched the items so they can’t be put back on the shelves. There is no suggestion she did it for any other reason then to help customers. Yes it was against head offices rules but I think she did the right thing in trying to help.

This.

They had so many other choices. A final written warning is a severe sanction.

If an employee has been with you for 44 years and was acting from (foolish) kindness they deserve more than this.

@letmethinkaboutitfornow

They were right to sack her. There are rules. Especially as these rules are screwing us youngsters to try and protect the old and vulnerable! 😡 No cash has been in place for a while. You don’t like it, take your business elsewhere.

Nice post there. How are these rules screwing you "youngsters"? Many many older people don't have cards. Especially the older elderly. How would you feel if your elderly family member couldn't get a loaf of bread from the place they have been buying it from for decades? And don't say go somewhere else - many elderly people don't have the energy or strength to do this due to co morbidities. .

OP - I don't think she should have been sacked. A warning would have been much more appropriate imo. She didn't profit from it. In fact it was probably inconvenient for her most of the time. It came from a good intended place

It's appalling she was sacked. She was being kind. Misguided but this 'no cash' policy is awful and bigoted!

I have petitioned against my 82 year old mum’s bank to get her a contactless payment card.
They just won’t let her as she receives housing benefit.
I am in despair as she lives about 150 miles away from me and , despite having Power of Attourney, she can’t have a contactless card. So my very vulnerable mum has to touch these card machines. Most of the time, like folk of her age, she has cash which is suddenly unacceptable.
I really feel for the elderly and vulnerable right now.

If it's as reported sacking seems harsh, sounds like she was coming from a good place and didn't make any personal benefit from it.

It is absolutely appalling and I suspect will harm their trade at a time they cannot afford customers. There is a petition to get her reinstated on Change.org.

Isnt this the same shop that turned a 90 and 84 year old away as they only had cash?
I think thats awful and far worse than accepting cash.
Imagine if that was your mum/dad getting turned away without the supplies they'd gone out to get.
YABU!!!

To clarify what I think is appalling is the fact that they sacked her. I hope they are shamed into reinstating her and reviewing their policies for vulnerable customers.

I can only think you are being deliberately goady op as you must surely know most decent people would disagree with you.

@BigChocFrenzy

Most uk shops do allow you to pay with cash, they just prefer card if possible.

It’s difficult, but I think it came from a good place so maybe a quiet word would have been better!

Now I want one of individual trifles birds do with the blob of sauce and green sprinkles (at least that’s how I remember them!) Their pork pies were integral to Christmas

@Witchofzog
How would you feel if your elderly family member couldn't get a loaf of bread from the place they have been buying it from for decades?

I sorted it out for them! We knew it was coming.
So they now have a contactless credit card with a spending limit of £500. Most sensible children did this in my friendship for their elderly.

Awful.

Imagine it was your elderly parents who just wanted to buy some fresh bread. Not everyone has a contactless card ... and there a number of reasons for that!

What the fuck is wrong with this country.

Birds know very well that many of their customers are elderly. Many of the staff in their shops are also getting on a bit, too. The card-only policy is very likely to have been a well-intentioned attempt to keep everyone safe, on the basis that cash is a potential ‘vector of infection’, in Prof Whitty’s phrase.

Seems absolutely bonkers to me considering every big super market I’ve been to are still taking cash.

So what's to stop her now carrying on doing this?
She's no longer an employee and the company no longer have any control over what she does

HR person here.

assuming her disciplinary record was clear before this, I think it’s an exceptionally harsh stance.

Yes she didn’t follow policy- and that warrants an investigation, but when you break down the mitigating circumstances- there was no malice, she was looking out for her customers, and did not gain anything personally- I would have given her either a slap on the wrists or a written warning maximum.

Sacking employees at that age, for menial reasons such as this, just sends a very negative message, and also smacks of jumping on a reason to get rid of an elderly colleague with lots of service at minimal cost, in a precarious time where a redundancy situation may come up thick and fast.

[quote letmethinkaboutitfornow]@Witchofzog
How would you feel if your elderly family member couldn't get a loaf of bread from the place they have been buying it from for decades?

I sorted it out for them! We knew it was coming.
So they now have a contactless credit card with a spending limit of £500. Most sensible children did this in my friendship for their elderly.[/quote]
That's good that your older family member had someone to do this for them. Not everyone is so lucky. What about those who don't have family? What do they do?

Weve had birds cobs today with beef paste, sausage rolls and a standard pork pie.

Caramel donuts afterwards

Was was the original question?!

I have had a bank account for over 50 years. I do not and never have had a debit card. I write checks to pay bills. I go to the bank drive-thru and draw out cash every week for food shopping and other unscheduled expenditures. If they won't take cash I will shop elsewhere. But I think it is illegal to refuse cash in the United States.

If I was in Nottingham I would be boycotting Birds. They refused to take cash from a couple of woman in their 90’s who only work in cash.

Whilst I understand their wish to be card only, that’s doesn’t work for lots of their customers

Lots of shops are still accepting cash

@majesticallyawkward

So from a purely 'head office' / corporate view, the employee ignored their new rules brought in to keep her safe, handled cash while at work and presumably had her purse behind the til which is generally a no-no. It opens up all kind of issues for Birds and the employee. Taking cash from a customer and putting in your own purse is a terrible idea.

I also don't understand why having a debit card is such an issue, even as an older person they presumably have a bank account as you need one to get pensions/benefits etc, and contactless is so easy. Given the increased risk factors of advanced age with covid wouldn't this be the ideal time to use contactless? We're very likely headed for a cashless society sooner than expected.

As soon as I read "new rules to keep her safe" I thought that you're a Stasi type person, that's such bullshit. There's so many bizarre and ridiculous roolz being made up to keep you safe I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you are dismissed and ignored for being elderly.

It's not money laundering or fraud or anything like that. But it is an undermining of a policy intended to protect staff and customers. You can't, especially as a manager, deliberately flout such rules (even if they turn out not to be particularly effective) and expect to keep your job.

I don't think Bird's policy is a good one, I think shops should be barred from refusing cash payments, despite COVID. But that's not the law. The Bakery was attempting to create as a safe an environment as possible for their staff and customers) they can't have individual managers - the people who are supposed to ensure policies are followed - just ignoring those policies because they don't like them. Sacking was not disproportionate.

Caramel doughnuts! Blackcurrant tartlets, mandarin cream sponge! All the little rolls in bags. Birds cheese and onion pasty. The little mice at Christmas!

Drooling aside, I feel very sorry for this lady but she has put herself in a very vulnerable position by having her purse with her whilst serving, and handling money (presumably not all elderly customers had exact change so she would have had to give them change from the purse). Then continue touching other items on the counter after touching the money. As she had been there so long it would have been better to use her reasoning and bargaining power to challenge the rule set by Birds management.