Sean Egan, 46, claims he was sacked from his Morrisons store manager role in Aldridge, near Walsall, after nearly 30 years of service, when he tackled a shoplifter who spat in his face
A father has slammed a well-known supermarket chain for displaying ‘no empathy’ after he was ‘dismissed for confronting an aggressive thief’ and now struggles to pay his mortgage.
Sean Egan had been employed at Morrisons in Aldridge, near Walsall, for almost three decades but was dismissed from his store manager role following the incident on December 3.
The 46 year old – who began on the delicatessen counter at the Anchor Road branch 29 years ago – said he was replenishing shelves when a persistent shoplifter entered the store.
Minutes later, he was told that the same individual was placing bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey into a bag.
When confronted by a female colleague, the man became aggressive, causing Egan to step in.
As he tried to remove the man from the shop, Egan said he was spat in the face, which triggered his response.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, he said: “I was asking him to leave when I was spat on the side of my face. I could hear him clearing his throat to spit again, and I threw my hand back.
“I connected with him and drew the back of my hand against his face to create space between us.
“There was no punch, it was an instant reaction, and I couldn’t be spat in the face again.
“He then put his hand into his bag, so I grabbed his arm to stop him. We wrestled and inadvertently clashed heads when another member of staff helped to remove him from the store.
“Even as we’re removing him, he’s attempting to headbutt us and spat at us. He was eventually arrested by the police, who knew who he was.
“Officers came to do a witness statement and I didn’t think anything of it, I felt I had done a civil service for the community.
“Days later, I was told by my area manager that there would be an investigation.”
An investigation in February found that Egan was at fault for failing to follow Morrison’s do-not-detain policy for shoplifters.
Now, window-cleaning to make ends meet, Egan is seeking full-time work and has missed several mortgage payments.
Despite his nearly three decades of experience, the father of two is uncertain if he will return to retail after the investigation.
He added: “I was in there for four hours, and it might as well have been four minutes because the outcome was going to be the same.
“The incident was blown out of proportion. I had seconds to protect customers and colleagues, but none of that was taken into account.
“They didn’t take 29 years into consideration and only went off this one incident. I’ve never had an investigation before and was taken aback.
“There was no empathy. It was cut-throat from the beginning, no emotion. Nobody asked how I was feeling until the end of the appeal.
“Am I surprised by the outcome? No, they don’t care about the individual. I contacted the CEO multiple times and never received a response.
“I’ve done 29 years from starting on the deli to becoming store manager. I’d rather not return to retail after this, but if I have to, I have to.”
In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for Morrisons said: “We are continuing to take wide-ranging action to address the threat of shoplifting or violence in our stores.
“The health and safety of all colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to Morrisons.
“We have very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect our colleagues and customers from the risk of harm, which must be strictly followed.
“These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers, and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation.
“We will not ask colleagues to put themselves at risk. As a responsible employer, our focus is entirely on taking the correct action to ensure health and safety is maintained at all times.”
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