Forbidden pasta

The process began last April in a southern German old-people's home. A carer, employed by the state-run home for 17 years, helped herself to a portion of ravioli worth somewhere between 2-3 euros ($3-4).

A court in southern Germany's Lake Constance region, argued that the decision by the home to terminate the carer's contract without notice or compensation was a fair response to the breach of trust between employer and employee.

The court also argued that the now unemployed carer had been aware that taking food out of the institution was strictly forbidden. Her actions constituted theft, the court said, and carried consequences the employee was aware of.

According to the defendant the southern German pasta dish had been leftover from the lunch round and would have ended up in the bin. She argued she had been intending to eat them on the premises but got distracted after a busy day of rounds.

At one point during the six-month long trial the 58-year-old was offered a payoff of 25,000 euros if she accepted her employers' decision on April 30 to fire her. She refused the offer and appealed. An appeal she has now lost.

The case of the six ravioli is the latest in a spate of similar stories that have been hitting the headlines in Germany.

Earlier in the year a cashier was fired on the spot for cashing in a coupon worth 1.30 euros she hadn't paid for and more recently a secretary was sacked for eating a meatball from her company's buffet.

In all three cases there was speculation that the companies were just looking for a way to get rid of expensive employees protected by stringent German employee protection laws.

All three companies have argued that it is not the value of the product that counts but the breach of trust that would have affected the work environment.

tw/AFP/Die Welt
Editor: Rob Mudge