A member of the crew of a York train picked sausage rolls out of a bin and served them to passengers.
The employee was sacked for his conduct, which was caught on CCTV.
Peter Duffy, who worked for LNER, was reported to train managers after the incident.
Another train crew member gave a statement which was reported at an employment tribunal, where Mr Duffy was claiming unfair dismissal.
The statement said: “On departure from York two sausage rolls were requested for two passengers in Coach K.
“Myself and a host from standard class had been in the kitchen to get ourselves food when the host who was cooking told us the sausage rolls had just gone in the bin.”
They heard “lots of laughing after the kitchen door closed”.
“A couple of minutes later one of the hosts from first class took the sausage rolls to Coach K.
“After I had finished my food I took my rubbish to the bin in the kitchen and this is when noticed the bins were empty and there were no sausage rolls in the bin.
“This raised my suspicions but I couldn’t be sure as to where the sausage rolls had gone. However I do believe these have been served to passengers by the crew working in first class.”
The manager reviewed on-board CCTV footage from the incident, on 7 May 2023, and believed it supported the concern raised.
At a later HR meeting it was pointed out to Mr Duffy that “the footage showed rubbish had been put in the bin and the claimant said ‘I can’t argue with that, I’m an honest person. I clearly took them out as there were none left for people in first class but they were wrapped in foil.’
“Shortly after making that comment the claimant said ‘we had totally ran out, I have just gone too far for the customer in my mind’.”
Mr Duffy added that he was “a bit all over”, “stressed with work” and on an anti-depressant for severe anxiety, as well as pain medication.
His manager argued that CCTV footage showed the binned sausage rolls were not completely wrapped in foil.
Another colleague with Mr Duffy at the time was being investigated for her role. The tribunal heard her evidence: “Ms Walker said the claimant would never have retrieved food from a bin and served it and he was the most customer focused person she knew…
“When asked if she knew what they were laughing at on the CCTV footage Ms Walker said ‘yes I had passed wind and we were laughing at that but I laugh all the time.’”
At a subsequent meeting, Mr Duffy said he had “mental health issues” and had had “some horrendous experiences with the north management team which has impacted on me”.
An investigation found that he had retrieved the sausage rolls out of the bin and served them to customers which was a clear breach of food hygiene regulations. It amounted to gross misconduct, and could have caused LNER “serious reputational damage if the incident was observed or discovered by a customer”.
Mr Duffy’s union rep said he did not dispute carrying out the actions, adding: “We argue that the strain, stress and anxiety that Peter had been under leading up to this incident led him to do something so out of character, no one with compassion can deny it is instrumental in his actions that night.”
Mr Duffy was referred for a consultation with occupational health, which reported “Mr Duffy’s mental health condition can cause symptoms of impaired concentration or focus and impaired decision making and performance”.
He was dismissed by LNER manager Ms Mason on 14 July 2023. He took the case to an employment tribunal claiming unfair dismissal due to disability discrimination because of his mental ill health.
The hearing took place last August.
In a report updated on 31 December 2025, employment Judge Aspden rejected the claim of unfair dismisal. Their report said: “We are satisfied that Ms Mason had reasonable grounds for concluding that the claimant’s relevant behaviour on the day in question was not caused or contributed to by his mental state and the anxiety he had been experiencing.”
