Tesco has apologised in the High Court for defaming a contract cleaner who was falsely accused of theft after he paid €0.85 less than the expected price for two Danish pastries, which had been wrongly labelled as butter croissants.
Syed Asif Hussein received undisclosed damages after Tesco Ireland acknowledged he did not engage in any dishonest conduct in the course of his role with Mid West Cleaning, which had assigned him to a Tesco at Coonagh Cross in Limerick.
It was claimed that on February 14th, 2016, Mr Hussein, of Inis Mhara, Shannon, Co Clare, requested two Danish pastries from the bakery which a Tesco staff member put in a transparent plastic bag and placed a price tag on.
Mr Hussein paid for them at the self-service checkout when, it was alleged, a trainee manager asked him to attend the service desk for a staff search.
The trainee manager contacted store manager Joe Rooney because the two pastries had been tagged as butter croissants, which meant Mr Hussein had paid €0.85 less than he should have. Mr Hussein said he was unaware they had been incorrectly tagged.
‘Favour’
It was claimed that Mr Rooney told him “the guy in the bakery is your friend and he gave you a favour and gave you a discount”.
Mr Hussein offered to pay the balance but this was not accepted and he asked Mr Rooney if he was accusing him of stealing.
It was claimed that Mr Rooney replied: “Yes you were, cause you were stealing 85 cent from the company and this is a serious issue and I am going to talk to your manager about this”.
Mr Hussein said this was audible members of the public doing their shopping. He was later suspended with pay from his job with Mid West Cleaning.
Two days later, it is claimed, while his wife was travelling on a bus, a Tesco employee sat beside her and said: “I heard your husband got caught stealing in Tesco”. Another Tesco employee later made similar comments to Mr Hussein’s wife in her place of work, as did a former colleague of his at the cleaning firm.
Undertakings
Mr Hussein’s solicitors wrote to Tesco seeking an apology and amends. The company was requested to provide undertakings that it would inform its staff and Mr Hussein’s employer that the allegations had no basis. It refused or neglected to comply with the request, it was claimed, and he sued for defamation, which the company denied.
Following talks on Thursday, a High Court jury sworn in to hear the case was told it had been settled before it opened.
Michael Delaney SC, instructed by Alec Gabbett of Leahy Reidy Solicitors, for Mr Hussein, said the defendant had agreed to pay a sum of damages plus costs. The defendant would also read a statement as part of the settlement.
Declan Doyle SC, for Tesco, said his client wished to acknowledge Mr Hussein “is of the highest integrity and was not at any time engaged in dishonest conduct in the course of his employment at the defendant’s store”.
Mr Justice Michael McGrath congratulated the parties, thanked the jury and struck out the proceedings.