Diabetic worker who stole chocolate bar to raise blood sugar ‘fired’

A diabetic pest controller who stole a chocolate bar to raise his blood sugar has been fired, a court has ruled.

Jason Galloway secretly took the candy out of a restaurant fridge and ate it when he felt his sugar levels were low while he was working.

Mr Galloway, who suffers from type 1 diabetes, was caught on CCTV raiding the store and was reported to his employer Rentokil.

After being suspended, Mr. Galloway ended up returning to the restaurant with two chocolate bars to replace the one he had taken.

But Rentokil bosses said “theft is theft” and sacked him for serious misconduct.

“Felt Flight Etiquette”

Mr Galloway attempted to sue the pest control company for disability discrimination and took him to an employment tribunal in Hull, arguing his dismissal was “unnecessarily harsh” and that “he did not like being labeled a thief for having suffered a “medical episode of hypoglycemia.”

However, he lost his case and the court ruled that he did nothing to reassure Rentokil that it would not do the same thing again.

The court heard Mr Galloway had been managing his diabetes for around 30 years and had an implant connected to his phone, allowing him to measure his blood sugar levels.

He had to inject himself with insulin and when the levels fell too low, he suffered a hypoglycemic episode, called a “hypos.”

A court judgment said: “On April 3, 2023, at around 5 p.m., Mr Galloway was at a customer’s home and took and ate a bar of chocolate from a store refrigerator.

“I didn’t mention chocolate.”

“The bar was owned by a member of staff – the store didn’t sell chocolate bars.

“Mr. Galloway then purchased a noodle meal from the outlet.

“He had called management to tell them he wouldn’t complete his calls that day, but he didn’t mention the chocolate bar.

“However, he realized he had done something that needed to be fixed that evening.

“Store management reviewed the CCTV and concluded that he had robbed the bar and reported this to Rentokil.

“After (Mr Galloway was suspended) he went to the client’s house, taking with him two bars of chocolate to replace the one he had taken, informing the client’s manager of his diabetes.

“The customer then informed Rentokil and apologized, thereby withdrawing the complaint.”

Two previous warnings

At a meeting about the incident, Mr Galloway “screamed” and claimed he was being “persecuted”.

A Rentokil manager told Mr Galloway that “theft is theft” and that the company “could not justify theft”.

Mr Galloway had previously received two warnings over separate matters, it was heard.

In his defence, Mr Galloway claimed he had a “valid reason” to steal, adding: “I didn’t choose to have a hypo, it was OK because it was justified.” »

“Witch hunt” claim

He claimed “the company wanted him to step down because of his diabetes and there was a witch hunt”, the court heard.

He was dismissed in April 2023, although he had worked at Rentokil since April 2022.

Rentokil told him that he had not resolved the problem and that his actions were “bringing the company into disrepute.”

Employment judge Jennifer Wade dismissed his disability discrimination claim.

She said: “The nature of Rentokil’s business, trust that its staff would do the right things and act appropriately when working alone, was essential, as was protecting its reputation in a competitive market. »

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