Last May, Nicole Lilliman, a Tim Hortons employee, was fired for giving a free Timbit to a baby. The 27-year-old immediately successfully alerted the media. But the story does not end there!
Nicole Lilliman had worked for Tim Hortons for three years. For her, it was normal to give a child a 16¢ Timbit, but the store manager had a different idea. After viewing a video surveillance tape, the manager fired her for giving away free food, which is against the rules. But the incident attracted media attention, and the senior vice-president of Time Hortons, Nick Javor, reacted very quickly, acknowledging that the whole situation had been badly handled and that giving away a Timbit to a child was not valid grounds for dismissal. A few days later, Ms. Lilliman was offered a job at another Tim Hortons franchise
According to Mr. Javor, the incident was an unfortunate one in which an “over-zealous” manager acted without thinking. The Tim Hortons spokesperson said that no action would be taken against the manager, however, because the chain does not have a nationwide policy on Timbit freebies, so he did nothing wrong. Franchisees currently set their own policies and manage their teams as they choose.
The incident was the focus of an HRinfodesk poll, with 86% of 322 people surveyed saying that an employee should not be fired “for giving away company ‘freebies’ (low value items) as a goodwill gesture or promotion.” While there should be corporate policies that apply to all personnel, it is better to start off with warnings rather than immediate sanctions.