STORE bosses have been told to be more understanding by a tribunal chairman after they sacked a pregnant assistant who gave away 200 carrier bags.

David Leahy sent out the message to Netto management, despite ruling that Kim Fielding, of Queen Street, Darwen, had been dismissed fairly.

A newly installed CCTV camera in Netto, School Street, Darwen, revealed Kim was not charging customers for carrier bags. In a four-day period in June she gave away 124 3p and 85 9p bags worth a total of around £11.

The employment tribunal chairman said he sympathised with the 20-year-old mother and said the panel, hypothetically, would not have sacked her in the same situation.

Mr Leahy said: "It's not for us to decide what we would do if we were in the same situation or whether we feel sorry for the applicant.

"The decision is whether or not dismissal was one of the reasonable options open to a reasonable employer.

"I can say that it is highly unlikely that we would have dismissed the applicant but that's not the point. She put the bags through without scanning them and she did it knowingly."

"She was six months pregnant at the time but her pregnancy was never taken into account as something that could have altered her judgement.

"She was pregnant and alone and in future, we would like to see management extend a bit more understanding for people in Kim's position."

After she was sacked at a disciplinary hearing last August, Kim maintained her innocence, claiming she had made a mistake.

She told the tribunal: "I had no idea that what I was doing could get me sacked. I would never do that with a child on the way. I would never put my job on the line like that."

Former employee and family friend Lila Kilpatrick, 36, of Carr Road, said: "I was a cashier for 18 months and I left in June. I attended staff meetings where the bags were mentioned but there was never any mention of it being a sackable offence."

The tribunal ruled that Kim knew what she was doing and agreed with Netto bosses that the loss was serious enough to warrant dismissal.

Netto District manager Warren Terry said Kim's was one of the 'worst cases' of gross misconduct he had ever seen.

Mr Terry said: "A revised staff handbook was issued to workers, warning them that CCTV cameras were to be installed because there was an 'unknown loss problem' in the Darwen store. There are two ways to scan the bags, by a barcode or a three-digit number and Kim was doing neither."

At an interview on Saturday, August 10, Kim denied any wrongdoing but admitted she wasn't scanning the bags after seeing video evidence.

Kim gave birth to baby Leon in December and is hoping to go back to work within the next few months.

Kim's father Royston Fielding, said: "It's a classic example of the big companies against the little people."