Mr Fekete initially said that he had eaten two sandwiches, two pasta and two coffees alone.
Banking giant Citibank has won a legal battle in the UK after firing an employee for claiming the cost of sandwiches and coffee for his partner during a business trip and then lying. According to the BBC, former financial analyst Szabolcs Fekete had sued the bank for unfair dismissal after being fired last year for gross misconduct in expense reporting. He initially said he had consumed the two sandwiches, two pasta dishes and two coffees alone during a business trip to Amsterdam, but later admitted that his partner had shared some of the food.
According to the BBC, Mr Fekete, who worked at Citibank for seven years, traveled to Amsterdam for work between July 3 and 5, 2022. On his return to London he submitted a food and drink expense claim, presumably covered by his company’s daily allowance. However, the supervisor to whom he filed his claim asked him whether he had eaten all of the food for which he was seeking reimbursement.
In an email exchange with his supervisor, the Citibank employee said that he “checked the receipt and didn’t see anything unusual…I was alone on a business trip and…I drank two coffees because they were very small” .
In response, the Citibank manager replied that the receipt “appears to say two sandwiches, two coffees and another drink…Are you saying you consumed all of this yourself?”
Mr. Fekete explained: “That day I skipped breakfast and only drank 1 coffee in the morning. For lunch I ate 1 sandwich with a drink and 1 coffee in the restaurant and took another coffee to the office and.” In the afternoon I ate the second sandwich, which also served as dinner.
“All my expenses are within the 100 euro daily allowance. “Could you please briefly describe to me what your concern is, because I don’t think I have to justify my eating habits to this extent,” he continued to say to his superior.
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The bank, on the other hand, said its request was not about the amount, but rather whether the claim violated its expense management policy, which states that spouse travel and meals are not reimbursed. It was also questioned whether 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 meal, which he had charged to his employer as an expense, with his partner. Responding to the emails, he also claimed that he was experiencing personal difficulties following the death of his grandmother, had been on medical leave for six weeks and was taking strong medication.
However, Citibank ultimately fired Mr. Fekete. Employment judge Illing concluded that his dismissal was justified because Mr Fekete was not initially truthful about the falsely claimed expenses.
“I have found that in this case it is not the sums of money that are at stake. This case is about the filing of the expense report and the plaintiff’s conduct thereafter,” he said.
“It is significant that the plaintiff did not make a full and frank disclosure at the first opportunity and did not answer questions directly,” the judge added.
“We are satisfied with the decision,” a Citibank spokesman said in response to the ruling.