Part-time Worker Claims Unfair Dismissal Accused of Theft Just for Carrying a Bag

On the 29th, a story about a part-time employee who was accused of theft and fired was posted on 'Nate Pann,' along with the message the boss sent to the group chat on the day of the incident.
[Photo by Nate Pann]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A part-time employee working at a franchise cafe in Busan was fired after being accused of theft simply because they carried a bag.

On the 29th, a person identified as A, who worked as a part-time employee during the opening shift at a franchise cafe in Busan, posted a lengthy message titled "I was unfairly fired as a part-timer after being accused of theft" on the online community 'Nate Pann'.

A said, "On the 27th, I was working with the owner when the owner suddenly said that the spoons used in the store had gone missing." Since the owner tended to be forgetful, A responded lightly, saying, "Maybe you misplaced them or lost them somewhere."

However, the owner said, "One measuring spoon, one dishcloth, and several powders used for making drinks have also disappeared," adding, "It seems someone stole them."

A explained, "I didn’t even know the initial inventory quantity the owner ordered, so I wasn’t aware anything was missing," and suggested to the owner, "Why don’t we check the CCTV?" However, the storage room, which was used for inventory and as a changing room for part-time employees, had no CCTV. Instead, they reviewed footage from cameras installed elsewhere.

According to A, after reviewing the footage, the owner said, "Weekend part-timers don’t carry bags at all, but only A and the afternoon shift carry bags." The owner then informed other part-time employees of this fact in a group chat and instructed them not to bring bags to work.

The next day, when A came to work, the owner notified A of their dismissal. According to A, the owner called A out separately after the shift ended and A had changed clothes, took A to the back door of the store, and said, "I saw what was inside the other part-timers’ bags, but your bag has a zipper, so circumstantially, you are the most suspicious." The owner then said, "I can’t work with you," and fired A.

Shocked by the sudden dismissal, A expressed frustration, saying, "It was really absurd and ridiculous." A said, "The owner kept saying, 'I’m not suspicious,' but kept citing circumstantial evidence and the bag as reasons, so I asked to call the police because it was unfair." When A said, "Why don’t we call the police and investigate to catch whoever did it?" the owner replied, "I will call the police, but since it’s a suspicious situation for now, I can’t work with you."

A expressed anger, saying, "I don’t want to work with an owner who fires people arbitrarily without any concrete evidence." A also said, "I wonder if the owner might have misplaced something after handling it."

A mentioned that the owner often seemed forgetful. "The owner runs another franchise store of the same brand and sometimes brings items missing from our store from that store, and vice versa, about once or twice," A said. A added, "I think the owner might have forgotten that the missing inventory was moved like this."

The dismissed A lamented, "I worked hard, but was suddenly fired for an unreasonable reason," expressing frustration. A added, "I feel unfair, angry, humiliated, and insulted," and said, "I will go to my parents and the Labor Office."

Netizens criticized the situation, saying, "It seems the owner made up a ridiculous excuse just to fire the writer," "Who would steal measuring cups or dishcloths?" and "Is that even a valid reason for dismissal?"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.