Sainsbury’s worker unfairly sacked after cuddly toy sparked race row, tribunal rules

Judge says supermarket did not have grounds to fire employee of 28 years’ service

The Bing Bunny toy sold by Sainsbury’s that was at the rot of Ms Cunnington’s unfair dismissal case ( )

A supermarket worker was unfairly sacked from her 28-year career after a cuddly toy sparked accusations of racism, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Marian Cunnington, 52, was making price changes at the Sainsbury’s branch she was working at in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, in June 2020.

The incident began when she picked up a cuddly toy, a black rabbit named Bing, the lead character of BBC children’s cartoon Bing Bunny.

She then told a tribunal that she had asked colleagues: “Should we really be selling this toy? Black Lives Matter.”

In her evidence, Ms Cunnington said she felt that the toy could be offensive to black people in the same way as the banned Golly mascot for Robertson’s jam.

Ms Cunnington was dismissed for gross misconduct after a colleague alleged the comment she made was racist.

But a tribunal in Birgmingham ruled in June the former price controller was unfairly sacked.

“I’m not a racist and I’m a really good worker”, Ms Cunnington told the Mirror: “When I was summarily dismissed I was in disbelief.

“Complete shock...when you have worked for a company for that long, to have it all ripped away and leave under such circumstances.

“It was very hard but then I knew that I hadn’t said anything racist. Obviously I have made a lot of friends in my team and none of them believed I had done anything wrong.”

Ms Cunnington told managers at a meeting she believed she was “standing up” for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) cause by raising questions about the suitability of the doll.

However, she was sacked on 2 July last year and her appeal against the decision was also turned down.

Last month, employment Judge Richardson said the Sainsbury’s operations manager who fired her “could not explain” what was offensive about what she said.

The judge said “sensitivities were heightened at the time of the incident”, which took place two weeks after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was murdered by white police officer Derek Chauvin in the US, sparking worldwide protests over racial inequality.

The judge’s ruling added “It is all the more reason to take great care that proper procedures are followed thoroughly, objectively and fairly so that justice can be done.

“Given the size and resources of [Sainsbury’s], the fact that so many fundamental procedural errors were made is unacceptable... the process followed was a disservice to [Ms Cunnington] and also to [Sainsbury’s] cause to being an inclusive employer.

“In summary the decision to dismiss was not well founded and is unfair.”

Ms Cunnington has since found a new job with Marks and Spencer.

The Independent has contacted Sainsbury’s for comment.