An Industrial Tribunal yesterday confirmed the termination of employment of a man who was accused by his former employer of meddling with the cash till.

The tribunal, chaired by George Borg Cardona, heard how Entertainments Limited sacked Mario Azzopardi, after internal investigations showed that he was mishandling the cash till while at work at an entertainment establishment.

The company initiated an internal investigation, and a person was asked to keep an eye on Mr Azzopardi. He reported that the man was seen failing to give a fiscal receipt to a customer, and seconds later, put a piece of paper taken from the receipt roll into his pocket. On the same day he gave out a bottle of water for free without giving out a receipt. In another instance, Mr Azzopardi was seen accepting payment for a beer, and giving the corresponding receipt to another client, whose money he put in the cash box.

A manager reported that he had put in extra cash in Mr Azzopardi’s cash register three times, and on one occasion, at a director’s request, took out Lm6 from the cash till. In all four occasions, Mr Azzopardi reported that there was no cash missing or extra.

Mr Azzopardi rebutted the company’s accusations. He told the tribunal that he used to jot down notes on the receipt papers and that he had some personal issues with the manager who kept an eye on him, holding that this further motivated his laying off. He claimed that there was no reason for the company to mistrust or sack him, and he had never been given a formal warning.

The tribunal ruled that although the company’s method on keeping an eye on its employee was not completely professional, there was enough proof that Mr Azzopardi breached the company’s regulations. Furthermore, it was his own behaviour that made the company distrust him, and thus seek to protect its interests by terminating his job. It therefore ruled that the company was justified in sacking its employee.

Dr Luigi Sansone appeared for Mr Azzopardi while Legal Procurator Juliana Scerri Ferrante appeared for Entertainments Limited.