Serial lunch thief at the BBC: Employees report food is being taken from the staff fridge

Producer Barbara George wrote on Twitter that someone had pilfered her green Thai curry with prawns in the BBC fridge.

Her empty lunchbox was then put back in the fridge, empty.

George posted a note she left for the lunch bandit was which said: “Thank you for eating my lunch, I hope you enjoyed it. The green Thai curry prawns and rice were all homemade!”

She wrote in the post: “Someone has full on taken my work lunch in the BBC fridge - eaten it and has put the empty lunchbox back in the fridge in another bag.

“Hope your day is better than mine - I left a note for them too.”

Someone has full on taken my work lunch (green thai curry w/prawns and sticky coconut rice) in the @BBC fridge - eaten it and has put the empty lunchbox back in the fridge in another bag 🙃🙃🙃🙃 Hope your day is better than mine…I left a note for them too🥲 pic.twitter.com/M1gLKqfxNL

— Barbara George (@Barbara__George)

Someone has full on taken my work lunch (green thai curry w/prawns and sticky coconut rice) in the @BBC fridge - eaten it and has put the empty lunchbox back in the fridge in another bag 🙃🙃🙃🙃 Hope your day is better than mine…I left a note for them too🥲 pic.twitter.com/M1gLKqfxNL

— Barbara George (@Barbara__George) January 26, 2023

News presenter Simi Jolaoso wrote in the thread that her lunch and the container had gone missing from the fridge.

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“Happened to me too last month - my chickpea curry was taken from a fridge on the 5th floor.

“They didn’t return the new glass and bamboo lunchbox it was in though, that I’d just purchased.”

Radio journalist Annie Green said: “I joined the BBC last year and so far I’ve had three M&S ready meals vanish from the fridges and two pre-packed sandwiches. Ridiculous”

Ms Green added: “BBC security told me, so they’re going to ‘install notes on the fridges’. Problem solved.”

Broadcast journalist Robert Townsend wrote: “Someone once opened that fridge in front of me and ate my very own yogurt in front of my very eyes!”

Kate Palmer, HR Advice and Consultancy Director at Peninsula, told Reward Strategy: “Going to the fridge on your lunch break to find that someone has taken your food can be a common annoyance in the workplace. Often this is a simple mistake and it may not be necessary to involve HR. But if this keeps happening, employees should raise the issue with their employer who can consider the best course of action.

“It may be appropriate for the employer to send an email reminder to all staff not to take their colleagues’ food and to be respectful to each other. The employer could also stress that if this continues it will lead to disciplinary action under the employer’s disciplinary procedure.

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“If this does not resolve the problem or if an individual continues to be targeted, this can make the matter more serious, and a disciplinary investigation may need to be carried out. However, whether this is feasible will depend on what evidence is available. If there are no witnesses and no CCTV, for example, it will be very difficult to identify who is responsible.

“Installing a CCTV camera to catch the culprit is not as simple as it sounds because of data protection laws. Employees need to be informed if their images are going to be caught on camera, and the reason for the recording. 

“You need to be able to justify using surveillance methods and only use it for the purpose it was intended for. Additionally, employers need to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if they are using CCTV and pay a fee unless exempt. Covert surveillance should only be used in exceptional circumstances where wrongdoing is alleged, in accordance with strict ICO rules.”

Palmer warned employees not to take matters into their own hands by using methods to catch the lunch thief.

She added: “Employers should discourage employees from using their own detective methods like adding laxatives to their food to identify the thief. This could put the safety of the individual at risk, especially if they have any allergies or other conditions which are triggered by certain medication.

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“If there are allegations of bullying or harassment, the employer should ensure that these are fully investigated in accordance with its bullying and harassment policies. It is also important to remind staff that the employer takes a zero-tolerance approach to this type of behaviour at work.”

Reward Strategy has contacted the BBC for comment.