Sodexo reinstates sacked hospital porter

17 February 2017 by
Sodexo reinstates sacked hospital porter

Sodexo has reinstated a hospital worker at King George Hospital in Ilford, Essex, who was sacked for allegedly failing to pay for a £4 breakfast.

The GMB union staged a protest supporting Aldren Tomlinson, who has worked at the hospital for 15 years, with hundreds of people signing petitions.

Sodexo holds a total facilities management services contract at the hospital which includes catering, estates and energy management, grounds and gardens, security, traffic management, cleaning services, pest control and portering.

Aldren Tomlinson said: "If it was not for being a member of GMB I would not have got my job back. My friends and work colleagues who were prepared to go on strike are all GMB members. I am delighted at clearing my name and getting my job back.

"Vanessa Feltz interviewed me on Wednesday morning and the support from her and her listeners blew me away. I look forward to going back to work on Monday."

Michael Dooley GMB local representative said: "GMB welcome the common sense decision to reinstate Aldren to his job as hospital porter.

"Dismissing a worker with a 15 year unblemished service record was not the best move Sodexo made, maybe they thought that it was acceptable but the strength of GMB came down from day one and I imagine they realised that we were not going to leave this member to his fate."

A spokesperson for Sodexo previously told The Caterer: "Any misconduct by an employee is addressed through our internal disciplinary procedure, and if an individual is not satisfied with the outcome they have the right to appeal the decision. We can confirm an employee has been dismissed and that individual still has the opportunity to appeal the decision. We are unable to comment any further."

GMB union in Sodexo bacon and eggs protest >>

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