Gousto Worker Fired for Eating Stolen Peanuts Despite Allergy Claims

A food packager for recipe box company Gousto lost her job after eating peanuts stolen from the factory floor, an employment tribunal heard.

Barbara Lisowska, 65, was fired for gross misconduct in May 2024 after endangering customers with food allergies. She claimed her dentures prevented her from eating the nuts and took her case to an employment tribunal. But CCTV footage showed her consuming them at the Warrington, Cheshire plant. Employment Judge rejected her unfair dismissal claim at a Manchester hearing.

The tribunal learned Lisowska was seen eating the peanuts at her workstation on April 12, 2024. Footage captured the grandmother eating at her station, then hiding something up her sleeve. It later showed her putting something in a bin.

Empty peanut tubs belonging to Gousto turned up in that same bin. Lisowska wears dentures and does not eat nuts, the tribunal heard. She denied taking the two packs.

The Polish packer argued her dismissal stemmed from race discrimination and health issues. "My dismissal was not an isolated incident but the final act in a continuous course of discriminatory treatment," the mother of one said.

She added it resulted from "harassment linked to my health condition" and "because of my lack of English and my need for a Polish interpreter."

Gousto employs 1,200 people at factories in Warrington and Lincolnshire, plus its London headquarters.