US EditionWoman's online shopping at work not sackable offence, judge rules
A UK employment tribunal awarded over 3,000 in damages after ruling that personal browsing under two hours during work was not excessive or grounds for dismissal.
- Employment Judge Michael Magee ruled in June 2023 in Bury St Edmunds that Ms A Lanuszka was unfairly dismissed by Accountancy MK Services after spyware revealed her personal computer use.
- The dismissal occurred after spyware monitoring in July 2023 revealed that Ms Lanuszka used her computer for personal activities, such as visiting Rightmove and Amazon, for a combined total of one hour and 24 minutes over two days, despite not having received any prior warnings.
- Judge Magee criticized the employer's performance documentation as created after the fact, noted no company policy forbade personal computer use, and confirmed much time on personal use was actually professional development.
- Mr Magee ruled that browsing online shops during working hours does not justify dismissal, and since Ms Lanuszka’s personal use of work time was not excessive or unreasonable, her compensation was not reduced due to any shared responsibility.
- The tribunal awarded Ms Lanuszka more than £14,000 in compensation, and her dismissal’s timing alongside the owner’s sister moving to the UK suggested ulterior motives behind the firing before she reached two years' service.
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Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
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67% Center
L 33%
C 67%
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