Employee's legal bid fails after using petty cash for two chocolate bars

THE pleasure of tucking into two chocolate bars with money from her company’s petty cash came at an even higher price for a sales manager; she lost her job because of the indiscretion.

- ZELDA VENTER

The two chocolate bars became the subject of legal scrutiny — first during arbitration proceedings during which a commissioner accepted her excuse that she was hungry and thus bought the sweet treats. It also now formed part of proceedings at the Labour Court in Johannesburg.

JDG Ltd, trading as Hi-Fi Corporation, turned to the labour court to review the arbitration ruling, which ordered it to reinstate the employee, only identified as MM. The arbitrator earlier found her dismissal to be substantively unfair.

She was employed as the sales manager of the applicant's branch in Jabulani Mall. Her dismissal followed after she took petty cash money, on two separate occasions, from the applicant to purchase stationery for a promotion run by the applicant.

MM purchased the stationery but also bought two chocolates for her private consumption. She did not disclose this purchase to the branch manager.