Berlin cashier is flashpoint in capitalism row

[Skandi]

A Berlin cashier who was sacked from a supermarket after 31 years of service because her employer accused her of stealing 1.30 euros (1.15 pounds) has become a flash point of a debate about unchecked capitalism in Germany. Skip related content

At least here they can't sack you until they have proof of the theft

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[SwordoftheVistula]

I don't think it is 'unchecked capitalism' to not force people to continue to employ people who steal from them. True, it was a small amount, but how much should one be allowed to steal before they get fired? Also, this was probably not the first time this happened, it's possible she just pocketed a handful of change every day for the past 31 years and nobody ever noticed before.

[Beorn]

Big corporations deserve to have their profits stolen from them.

Without the benefit of knowing the full story, I would say the years of dedicated service should act on her side when faced with a trivial matter such as this.

I bet the manager cashed up incorrectly and is looking for an excuse.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Big corporations deserve to have their profits stolen from them.

Without the benefit of knowing the full story, I would say the years of dedicated service should act on her side when faced with a trivial matter such as this.

I bet the manager cashed up incorrectly and is looking for an excuse.

Yeah I know it's one of those things *everyone* in those type of jobs does, but still the company should be able to fire you if they catch you, or else it would get totally out of control.

[Lady L]

Big corporations deserve to have their profits stolen from them.

Without the benefit of knowing the full story, I would say the years of dedicated service should act on her side when faced with a trivial matter such as this.

I bet the manager cashed up incorrectly and is looking for an excuse.

I agree with you. One time while working at a gas station the guy there doing inventory with his little machine came behind the counter and saw my cigarettes and lighter and asked me " if I paid for them..? " I looked at him like he was stupid and said " Sure did " I noticed while working in these kind of places gas stores, grocery stores, sometimes the employees get totally mistreated. Possibly even worse than a McDonald's teenager... Innocent until proven guilty right..?

SOV-Yeah I know it's one of those things *everyone* in those type of jobs does, but still the company should be able to fire you if they catch you, or else it would get totally out of control.

What do you mean everyone does...?? And, sure if they catch ya can ya! Otherwise I'm out the door now to work at the local bank...

[Beorn]

Yeah I know it's one of those things *everyone* in those type of jobs does, but still the company should be able to fire you if they catch you, or else it would get totally out of control.

True. When I worked at Lidl, I would let customers have half their shopping for free; let shoplifters go unnoticed, steal from the register by way of sneaky processes.... and so on, but I knew I wasn't going to be there for 30 odd years working my ass off for the big man in a suit.

This woman may have stolen a sum which is, (and let's be honest here), a paltry amount - not even enough to buy a bottle coke from the store - and tossed upon the unemployment scrapheap as if 30 years of dedication was nothing.

There would surely be a call for common sense in that situation in countering what is and what isn't viable grounds for dismissal in an attempt to stamp out petty theft.

[Loki]

Cashiers earn a pittance. It's not enough to make a living from even. This system is utterly corrupt and ludicrous. It needs a radical overhaul, but instead our corrupt governments use our tax money to fund wealthy organisations and keep the rest of us in debt.

[Vulpix]

I think an employer needs proof of theft, otherwise it could be just an easy excuse to fire someone without any redundancy benefit or even a setup devised by another employee. By the way you have to be really desperate to bother to steal such a paltry sum..

[Treffie]

"I don't understand how a cashier can be fired because of 1.30 euros while managers who lose billions of euros can keep their jobs," Seehofer told a rally in Bavaria on Wednesday.

It does tend to put things into perspective though, doesn't it?

[SwordoftheVistula]

This woman may have stolen a sum which is, (and let's be honest here), a paltry amount - not even enough to buy a bottle coke from the store - and tossed upon the unemployment scrapheap as if 30 years of dedication was nothing.

Cashiers earn a pittance. It's not enough to make a living from even. This system is utterly corrupt and ludicrous. It needs a radical overhaul, but instead our corrupt governments use our tax money to fund wealthy organisations and keep the rest of us in debt.

I think an employer needs proof of theft, otherwise it could be just an easy excuse to fire someone without any redundancy benefit or even a setup devised by another employee. By the way you have to be really desperate to bother to steal such a paltry sum..

If you can't fire someone for stealing, what can you fire someone for? If you have someone working in a position where they handle money, you have to have a high level of trust in the person, and if you catch them stealing the only sensible action is to fire the person. This situation also begs the question as to what sort of person would work the same bottom-level position for 31 years. At any rate, these type of jobs are easy come/easy go, they are easy to find since they pay so low, so if someone gets fired from one it's not the end of the world. Comparisons to the overall economic crisis don't match up since it wasn't supermarkets that caused the economic collapse.