A court has fined cut-price retail chain Action €7,000 for wrongly dismissing a member of staff who took a 3-cent carrier bag without paying.

Dennis Kossink used the bag to take home 20 ponchos he had bought at the shop in Velp. After promising his employer he would repay the cost of the bag, he went on holiday and forgot about it.

On his return the man heard he’d been fired for stealing and started proceedings against the store. The judge in the case said that Action had acted according to its policy but that dismissal was too heavy a punishment.

In a statement Action said it expected honesty from its staff. ‘You pay for what you take, whether it’s worth 300 euros or 3 cents. You can’t steal from your employer.’

Action was not required to rehire the man but will have to pay his legal costs and a €7,000 fine.

‘I don’t really mind about not getting my job back, Kossink told local paper the Gelderlander. ‘I am in line for a really good job elsewhere so everything’s fine. And now I’m off to buy some cakes to celebrate.’