Real-life MMD: Waitress takes leftovers to give to a retirement home. Should I report

JeremyCH

This is always a difficult one and applkies not to just this situation but alwmost every food outlet whether it is a catering compnay or a supermarket.

The issue is not one of Health & Safety but food hygene (I work in the H&S feild and get really cross when people blame H&S when it isn't) and there is a valid point here becuse food has to be stored at certain temperetaures and can only be left out for a certain period before it has to be disposed of so if the food in question is out for too long there is a real possibility that your colleague is passing on food that could have unacceptably high levls of the bacteria that cause food poisoning so it really is asking for trouble - how would your friend feel if one of the residents of the home became ill as a result of her actions?

Many outlets do have policies in place to dispose of surplus food or food that is about to go out of date and in such a way as to pass it on to the needy whilst still in good (and safe) condition.

May I suggest that the best apparoch here would be to have a chat with your colleague and point out the risks. It is also worth pointing out that if caught she could lose her job there and then as employment law would regard this as theft and gross misconduct, but perhaps alos encourage her to look into how this process could be managed within the bounds of food hygene and then take a fully developed proposal to her bosses.

Hope that is of some help

kronenbourg

seriously these weekly MMD crack me up the majority of them seem made up , surely these people need to grow a pair and man up or in this case woman up
if they have taken the time and trouble to ask such stupid moral questions on here then they lead really sad and sheltered lives

MsHoarder

There's a food hygiene issue here, especially as the food is going to vulnerable people. The food has been out, uncovered, in a warm room and handled by the delegates who may not have washed their hands. Its then kept in non-controlled conditions until it gets to the care home. These are folk who could be made very seriously ill by a vomiting bug.

Of course the waitress is probably eating it herself/giving it to her family but if she wants leeway through tall tales she has to live with the perceived higher risk due to those tall tales.

I'd warn the colleague that you know and if she continues will feel obliged to tell the bosses.

mychemgal

Sorry to burst your bubble guys but it doesn't just happen in buffets it happens at restaurants too. If you send a meal back you've touched, (even if it's with your cutlery) we chuck it, not even for staff who know the risks . Not every place but where I work now 'wastage is not a reward' (but a disclaimer should be 'except if you didn't make the mistake and you haven't eaten in over x hours) .... Think on if you haven't worked in a restaurant/pub and are passing judgement, and the op should know the situation and be part of the solution not the problem...

Hopeinhell

Absolutely not. What kind of person are you? Get a life.

582236

One has to be very careful here. I would suggest that you speak to the waitress concerned and ask if she has thought what could happen if someone should be taken ill having eaten some of the food and perhaps suggest that she tries the following:-
1) gets a disclaimer from the retirement home against anyone making a claim should they become ill after eating some of the 'leftovers'
2) Before taking any 'leftovers' make sure that none of the food is 'out of date' or damaged
3) take no money or payment of any kind from the retirement home
and 4) armed with this information, approach the owner of the restaurant or wherever and explain fully what you would like to do and the precautions you have taken against any comeback. Then see what he says, remember technically it is his food until it is disposed of, so it is best that he is in agreement.

tallgirld

There is an awful lot of food waste in this country so I can understand why she does it.
I wouldn't report her but I would tell her to be careful as she will probably be sacked if caught.
If she chooses to continue to do it then let her get on with it. I certainly wouldn't get involved in cakegate!

Moneygonewhere?

I used to work in a bakery and we often took home left over cream cakes etc. I used to call them perks of the job. None of us got stomach ache. But then that was about 30 years ago before the advent of health and safety rules etc.

Cloudane

Ah I like it when these are easy.

NO.


Edit for content: I mean there's a time and a place to be a jobsworth. Folks in retirement homes need all the little pleasures they can get - this is just one of those situations where the various "rules and regulations" are really stupid and getting someone fired for being kind to others is pretty miserable.

If you must grass, then at least give them a warning first so they have a chance not to have a lost job and broken career just for wanting to be nice to some old people. Don't end up with your very own Daily Mail article.

Seakay

kronenbourg wrote: »

seriously these weekly MMD crack me up the majority of them seem made up , surely these people need to grow a pair and man up or in this case woman up
if they have taken the time and trouble to ask such stupid moral questions on here then they lead really sad and sheltered lives

there are no stupid questions on this forum - if you don't like it then find another site where personal abuse is welcomed.
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