Store assistant Michelle Capewell was told to leave under immediate suspension from mothercare where she worked after vaping on an electronic cigarette.
Michelle, 41, who was employed at Pixi-Foto inside the Mothercare branch, was working on the till when she removed the e-Cig from her pocket and had a quick vape. She had previously seen lots of customers using e-cigs in the shop and had not been told staff were not allowed.
5 minutes after placing the e-Cig back in her pocket she was told by employers that she was immediatly suspended due to a call from there head office.
The mother of 2 two was working at PixiFoto, Festival Park, Stoke when she was spotted vaping the e-cigarette earlier in October.
Michelle, who currently lives within Abbey Hulton, stated “I was talking to my area manager at the time, about a misunderstanding about what time I should have started my shift that day and I was feeling stressed”.
“The day before I had bought an e-cigarette and it was in my pocket. I didn’t even think about it – I took it out, had a shot of it and put it back in my pocket”.
She has not gone back to work for Pixi-Foto as she says the reaction was “over-the-top”. She understands that vaping in the store was not the best idea but no signs said it wasn’t allowed, customers were using it and the fact she was suspended instead of just being told not to bring it on the shop floor again.
The punishment was shift and severe for a little vape on an e-Cig. Either they need to display signs and clear rules, or the infringement shouldn’t have been treated so harshly.
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