Mr Fekete initially said that he had consumed 2 sandwiches, 2 pastas and 2 coffees.
Banking giant Citibank has won a legal battle in Britain after firing an employee for claiming expenses for sandwiches and coffee for his partner during a business trip and then lying about it. According to the BBC, former financial analyst Szabolcs Fekete had sued the bank for unfair dismissal after he was fired last year for gross misconduct over expense reporting. He initially said he had consumed the two sandwiches, two pasta dishes and two coffees himself during a business trip to Amsterdam, but later admitted his partner had shared some of the food.
According tothe BBCMr Fekete, who worked at Citibank for seven years, had traveled to Amsterdam for work between July 3 and 5, 2022. On his return to London he submitted a claim for food and drink, which he believed was covered by his company’s daily allowance. However, the supervisor to whom he filed his claim asked him if he had consumed all the food for which he was seeking reimbursement.
In an email exchange with his manager, the Citibank employee said he “checked the receipt and didn’t see anything inappropriate…I was traveling alone on business and…I had two coffees because they were very tasty.” small”.
In response, the Citibank manager said the receipt “appears to contain two sandwiches, two coffees and another drink…Are you indicating that all of this was consumed by you?”
To this, Mr Fekete explained: “On that day I skipped breakfast and only had 1 coffee in the morning. For lunch I had 1 sandwich with something to drink and 1 coffee at the restaurant, and took another coffee back with me to the office and ate the second sandwich in the afternoon…which also served as dinner.’
“All my expenses are within the daily allowance of 100 euros. Can you please explain what your concerns are because I don’t think I need to justify my eating habits to this extent,” he further told his manager.
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The bank, on the other hand, stated that its question was not about the amount, but whether the claim violated its expense management policy, which states that spousal travel and meals are not reimbursed. It also wondered if he had shared two dinners of pesto pasta and pasta Bolognese with his partner. But Mr Fekete said this was not the case.
However, he later admitted that he had shared the food, which he charged to his employer, with his partner. He also claimed he was having personal problems after the death of his grandmother, had taken six weeks of medical leave and was on strong medication when he responded to the emails.
However, Citibank eventually fired Mr Fekete. Employment Judge Illing concluded that his dismissal was justified as Mr Fekete was initially not honest about the incorrectly declared costs.
“I have discovered that this case is not about the amounts of money involved. This case is about the filing of the claim and the claimant’s conduct afterwards,” he said.
“It is significant that the claimant did not make a full and frank disclosure at the first opportunity and that he did not answer the questions directly,” the judge added.
“We are pleased with the decision,” a Citibank spokesperson said in response to the verdict.
