Finnair dismisses flight attendant over champagne pilfering case

Carrier has tightened line on petty theft in the workplace

print this

The Helsinki District Court has decided that the Finnish airline Finnair had the right to dismiss a flight attendant who had stolen a bottle of champagne, a light pen, a box of chocolates, and two bottles of juice from her workplace.
      However, the District Court states that the airline should not have terminated the hostess’s contract of employment with immediate effect without any period of notice.
     
The air hostess was entitled to six months' notice of termination, which is why Finnair has to make a payment equivalent to her six months’ salary.
      An employer is not to terminate an employment contract without proper and weighty reasons, in which case the employee has to stop working immediately without any period of notice.
      In general, the employee will be paid his or her salary for another six months.
     
According to the District Court, the air hostess was not in a position of special trust, even though she had to sell goods and handle money onboard. Hence, there were no ”weighty reasons”.
      In addition, the hostess had been working for Finnair for 34 years and had never been given any reprimands or warnings.
     
The air hostess explained that after a long flight she had simply forgotten to pay for the goods she had taken.
      The District Court did not find the employee’s explanation credible, which is why the pilfering of the products was a sufficient reason for dismissal.
      The airline did not even have to give her a warning nor consider relocating her elsewhere in the company.
     
The Court ordered Finnair to pay EUR 25,000 to the former employee. The sum includes her salary for the period of notice as well as some holiday compensation.
      In its verdict, the District Court contemplates whether or not the air hostess was treated in an unusually strict way at Finnair. According to some witnesses, the airline also terminated the employment contracts of two other employees for similar reasons in 2008.
      In comparison, no contracts were terminated nor was anybody dismissed at Finnair for similar reasons in previous years of the current decade, the Court noted.
     
Manager Hannu Huopaniemi from Finnair admits that ”a certain kind of tightening up” has taken place, as ”the entire aviation business has become stricter”.
      According to Huopaniemi, the regulations have been changed, and today the crew can no longer take any leftover food or opened bottles away from the plane, while all sales products have to be bought from other stewardesses and all receipts will have to be kept, in case there is an inspection.
     
Finnair has appealed against the lower court's decision to the Court of Appeal, in order to create a precedent relating to similar cases.
      At least one other similar dispute over the termination of an employment contract is soon to be handled by the District Court.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnair presents personnel with hard choice (5.9.2008)

Links:
  Finnair Group

Helsingin Sanomat