A Tesco worker stole thousands of pounds of power tools after a “campaign” against him when he told bosses that the store’s smoke alarms were five years out of date, a court has heard.
Artur Dziubinski claims management at Tesco in Ellon wanted to “get him out” after he discovered the alarms were five years old and would need to be replaced.
As part of his role as a maintenance man at the store, he was allowed to order tools and materials – however, when he resigned from the job he did not return them.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told £2,683 of power tools and materials were eventually found in his van and garage.
Fiscal depute Kiril Bonavino said Dziubinski, 52, was employed at Tesco between April 14 2020 and April 12 2021, when he would repair any damage in the store.
The court heard that around the turn of the year a manager was made aware of Dziubinski doing his shopping during work hours and other “performance issues”.
Mr Bonavino said: “He decided to look into the orders placed by the accused and observed he had ordered £2,683 worth of power tools and materials.
“They had been ordered individually so as to come under £500 each time.”
The manager asked Dziubinski to come into the office to discuss the matter, to which he agreed but “did not turn up”.
‘It seemed to him there was a campaign to get him out’
Dziubinski then went off sick for a period and, despite further calls and emails, he did not attend any meetings and eventually resigned.
In May 2021 a search warrant was granted for Dziubinski’s home and the power tools and materials were found.
Dziubinski, of Ythan Road, Aberdeen, admitted a charge of theft.
Defence agent John Hardie described his client as a “highly skilled, highly experienced tradesman”.
He said: “In early 2020, his business felt the pressure of Covid and he wasn’t able to enter the homes of clients.
“He applied for the job as a maintenance man at Tesco. He was clearly vastly overqualified for the job.”
Mr Hardie said Dziubinski was asked to do “more and more difficult tasks” as his skillset became clear.
He went on: “In order to do these tasks, he used his own tools.
“He ordered the tools, essentially to replace his own tools.”
‘Mitigating circumstances’
The solicitor explained: “The position became difficult for him because one of the jobs he had to do was fix a smoke alarm.
“He observed it was five years out of date.
“He reported that and from that point on it seemed to him there was a campaign to get him out because of the work that was going to be required to replace all the smoke alarms, creating problems.
“He went home and didn’t come back to work and kept the tools in his garage. He accepts he made that choice and he should have brought them to Tesco.”
Mr Hardie said Dziubinski appeared with no previous convictions, adding: “The experience of being involved in this criminal justice procedure has been extremely upsetting for him.”
Sheriff Janys Scott QC said: “This was a breach of trust as an employee which makes it a serious matter, but I appreciate that there are mitigating circumstances as explained by your solicitor.”
She ordered Dziubinski to pay a fine of £640.
Tesco has been contacted for comment.
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