Lidl employee sacked for drinking 17p water he didn’t buy | UK | News

A Lidl worker was sacked after drinking a 17p bottle of water because he felt “dehydrated” whilst on checkout duty, an employment tribunal has heard. Julian Oxborough had worked at the supermarket‘s Wincanton branch in Somerset for more than a decade before losing his job.

An employment tribunal has now thrown out his claim for unfair dismissal. On 19 July, 2024, Mr Oxborough served a shopper at the till who wanted to buy a bottle of water that had been taken from a multipack and didn’t have a barcode.

The shopper swapped the multipack bottle for one with a barcode and abandoned the original bottle at the checkout. The tribunal was told that later during his shift, Mr Oxborough drank from the bottle and topped up his own beverage whilst continuing to serve shoppers.

The next day, a store manager found the bottle beside the checkout counter and suspected it had been consumed in violation of company policy. Following a review of CCTV footage, Mr Oxborough was summoned to a meeting and told he was being suspended while an investigation into allegations of gross misconduct was underway.

During the investigation, Mr Oxborough said he had become dehydrated during his shift and was worried about his health, explaining that he hadn’t drunk from his own bottle because he had made his squash too concentrated. He thought the multipack bottle could be considered abandoned, as he had seen individual bottles of water in the staff room without receipts, Wales Online reports.

When questioned about whether he paid for the water, Mr Oxborough responded: “No, I think I may have forgot or can’t actually remember taking it”. He also mentioned that he was in a rush at the end of his shift and neglected to have the water written off.

He informed the investigation that he had no intention of being dishonest, although he realised it was wrong afterwards. The tribunal heard Mr Oxborough believed his dismissal was “a huge overreaction”.

Area manager Karina Moon, who served as the disciplinary officer, told the hearing that Mr Oxborough’s explanation regarding his intent to purchase the water or have it written off was inconsistent. He had not clarified why he didn’t opt for tap water instead of consuming the multi-pack bottle.

Ms Moon stated that Mr Oxborough had four days following the incident to come forward, but he failed to do so. She concluded that Mr Oxborough was aware of the correct procedures and there was no guarantee that the behaviour wouldn’t be repeated, leaving no suitable alternative but dismissal.

She confirmed that the claimant was consequently summarily dismissed for gross misconduct. Mr Oxborough informed the tribunal that he hadn’t intended to be dishonest, and he was tired, stressed, hot and thirsty, unwell, concerned about contracting Covid from his partner, and in a rush to leave at the end of his shift due to needing to catch a bus.

At a hearing in Southampton in October 2025, Employment Judge Yallop supported Lidl’s decision and dismissed Mr Oxborough’s claims, including unfair dismissal.

A spokesperson for Lidl informed the Press Association: “We would never take the decision to dismiss a long-serving colleague lightly, and the tribunal has upheld that our actions were fair and followed a thorough process. As a retailer, maintaining a consistent zero-tolerance approach to the consumption of unpaid stock is essential to our operations and ensures that clear rules are followed by everyone across the business.”

Generally, supermarket employees cannot freely consume products directly from shop shelves. Doing so is typically considered theft and is a serious breach of policy, often leading to disciplinary action. However, many retailers provide specific, structured ways for employees to receive free or heavily discounted food