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Citibank Fires Analyst Who Shared Pasta And Sandwiches With His Partner During Business Trip
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Citibank Fires Analyst Who Shared Pasta And Sandwiches With His Partner During Business Trip

Citibank Fires Analyst Who Shared Pasta And Sandwiches With His Partner During Business TripWorker Takes Citibank To Court After Being Fired For Trying To Expense 2 Sandwiches, 2 Pastas, And 2 CoffeesCitibank Employee Sacked After Claiming Partner’s Sandwich, Pasta And Coffee On Trip ExpensesCitibank Fires Employee Who Lied About Sharing Sandwiches, Pastas, And Coffees During Business TripBank Worker Loses Job Over Misleading Expense Claim For 2 Sandwiches, 2 Pastas, And 2 CoffeesCitibank Employee Loses Case After Being Fired For Sharing Meals With His PartnerBanker Gets Fired After Seeking Reimbursement For Meals Shared With His PartnerMan Fired After Trying To Expense Two-Sandwich Lunch And Later Admitting He Shared Them With PartnerCitibank Banker Fired After Claiming Partner’s Sandwich, Pasta And Coffee On Business Expenses
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American banking giant Citibank has recently won an employment lawsuit after firing a worker who had lied about sharing food and drinks with his partner during a business trip.

Szabolcs Fekete, who worked at the bank for seven years as an analyst, had sued the financial institution for unfair dismissal after being fired last year for gross misconduct.

Image credits: Mike Mozart (not the actual photo)

The man
claimed he had consumed two pasta dishes, two sandwiches, and two coffees by himself during a business trip to Amsterdam that took place between July 3 and 5 last year.

When he returned to London, he filed an expense claim for the consumptions, arguing that their cost didn’t surpass the €100 daily allowance covered by the bank.

However, his superior suspected that someone else had consumed the food and drink in addition to Mr. Fekete.

In an email to his supervisor, the former Citibank employee wrote “I was on the business trip by myself, and I had 2 coffees as they were very small.”

“On that day I skipped breakfast and only had 1 coffee in the morning. For lunch I had 1 sandwich with a drink and 1 coffee in the restaurant, and took another coffee back to the office with me and had the second sandwich in the afternoon which also served as my dinner.”

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The worker, senior analyst Szabolcs Fekete, initially claimed that he alone had consumed two pasta dishes, two coffees, and two sandwiches

Image credits: Ron Dollete (not the actual photo)

“All my expenses are within the €100 daily allowance,” he added, before saying that he didn’t have to “justify my eating habits to this extent.”

Mr. Fekete’s senior manager wrote back that the receipt “appears to have two sandwiches, two coffees, and another drink . Are you advising that this was all consumed by you?”

The issue wasn’t whether or not the analyst had exceeded his daily allowance, the bank explained, but that he had disobeyed its expense management policy, which doesn’t allow reimbursement for spousal travel and meals. Additionally, it states that those seeking reimbursement for meals and drinks must be listed.

The bank’s security and investigations services department questioned Mr. Fekete about whether his partner had consumed the pesto pasta or pasta bolognese included in the receipt, which the banker denied.

After confessing the truth, Mr. Fekete sued Citibank for wrongful dismissal

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Image credits: Toshiyuki IMAI

Ultimately, the worker admitted that he had eaten out with his partner during the business trip. He also argued that his dishonest emails had been the result of a personal crisis that made him take strong medication following the death of his grandmother.

Given that Citibank still decided to fire Mr. Fekete, the man took the banking giant to court for unfair dismissal or wrongful dismissal.

Judge Illing, who presided over the case, ruled in favor of Citibank, concluding that the dismissal had been fair.

“I have found that this case is not about the sums of money involved. This case is about the filing of the expense claim and the conduct of the claimant thereafter,” the judge said.

“It is significant that the claimant did not make a full and frank disclosure at the first opportunity and that he did not answer questions directly.”

“I am satisfied that even if the expense claim had been filed under a misunderstanding, there was an obligation upon the claimant to own up and rectify the position at the first opportunity.”

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Many people condemned the worker for his dishonest behavior

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Others believed the financial institution was too harsh with Mr. Fekete

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Marina Urman

Marina Urman

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Marina is a journalist at Bored Panda. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she holds a Bachelor of Social Science. In her spare time, you can find her baking, reading, or watching a docuseries. Her main areas of interest are pop culture, literature, and education.

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Marina Urman

Marina Urman

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Marina is a journalist at Bored Panda. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she holds a Bachelor of Social Science. In her spare time, you can find her baking, reading, or watching a docuseries. Her main areas of interest are pop culture, literature, and education.

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

Read less »

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

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Id row
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"He also argued that his dishonest emails had been the result of a personal crisis that made him take strong medication following the death of his grandmother." tf? Not even Saul Goodman would argue that nonsense. "I had to lie because I was on drugs due to my grandmother dying". That was grasping at straws.

I'm a Jimmy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I travel for work, and my wife comes along… I love it and it is still a deal. Yes we have to pay for her airfare and meals… but she stays in the hotel at no additional cost, she can use the rental car as long as she drops me off and picks me up, and I get to hang out after work with my best friend. This guy lied, the tried to cover the lie with another, and then that one with another… I would not want to work with this guy (or be friends with him). I occasionally audit my folks expense reports, 3-4 minutes at most, because it is part of my job… I’ll ask a question once in a while… who was at dinner?… and my folks take 30 seconds with an honest response, and we are cool, and it is a nothing.

Linnoff
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree that if it was a first infraction it's a bit of an extreme response, but also the policy exists so lying when you're called on it is not a good idea.

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Id row
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"He also argued that his dishonest emails had been the result of a personal crisis that made him take strong medication following the death of his grandmother." tf? Not even Saul Goodman would argue that nonsense. "I had to lie because I was on drugs due to my grandmother dying". That was grasping at straws.

I'm a Jimmy
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I travel for work, and my wife comes along… I love it and it is still a deal. Yes we have to pay for her airfare and meals… but she stays in the hotel at no additional cost, she can use the rental car as long as she drops me off and picks me up, and I get to hang out after work with my best friend. This guy lied, the tried to cover the lie with another, and then that one with another… I would not want to work with this guy (or be friends with him). I occasionally audit my folks expense reports, 3-4 minutes at most, because it is part of my job… I’ll ask a question once in a while… who was at dinner?… and my folks take 30 seconds with an honest response, and we are cool, and it is a nothing.

Linnoff
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree that if it was a first infraction it's a bit of an extreme response, but also the policy exists so lying when you're called on it is not a good idea.

Load More Comments
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