Fri, 05 Sep 2025

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 Woman's online shopping at work not sackable offence, judge rules

A woman has been awarded more than £14,000 after a tribunal ruled she had been unfairly dismissed.
A UK judge has ruled that browsing properties or shopping online during work hours is not grounds for dismissal, awarding an accountancy administrator over £14,000. The employee was fired from her job after her employer used spy software to track her computer and discovered she had spent 1 hour 24 minutes on personal matters. However, the judge found this to be acceptable, citing that there were no rules against using a work computer for personal purposes and that the employee's boss had also done so. The decision suggests that occasional browsing during breaks is not sufficient reason for dismissal under UK law.
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