Employee confronted for missing cash from the market takings
A now-defunct Canterbury bakery has been ordered to pay a former employee $16,150 after the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ruled that she was unjustifiably dismissed following accusations of theft.
The employee, who worked both in the bakery and at a weekend market stall, found herself at the centre of a workplace dispute in April 2024 after being confronted by her employer over missing cash from the market takings.
According to the ERA's findings, the employee was called into the bakery twice on her day off, where she was questioned about the shortfall and, in her view, accused of theft.
She was told the police might be called, and her suggestions for improving cash security were dismissed.
The employee denied any wrongdoing, explaining that both she and another staff member handled the cash box at the market and that unrecorded discounts were sometimes given to regular customers. She also claimed that her employer told others in their small town that she had stolen from the business, causing her further humiliation.
Following these confrontations, the employee did not return to work, believing she had been dismissed.
The employer, through its legal counsel, denied dismissing her and claimed the employee had left of her own accord. The bakery closed its doors several months later, and the company is now in the process of being removed from the Companies Register.
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