“Essential trust destroyed”: England: Cleaning lady eats leftover sandwich – fired

A cleaner in England discovers the remains of a tuna sandwich while cleaning, eats it, and is subsequently fired. The case causes disbelief.

A cleaner in England was fired after eating leftover tuna and cucumber sandwich. The cleaning company justified the dismissal by saying that the sandwiches were intended for employees of a law firm only.

According to various media reports, Gabriela Rodriguez discovered the sandwich while cleaning the office. Because she didn't want to get rid of it, she ate it. She was released a short time later.

Her former employer says no one offered Rodriguez the sandwich. “I have determined that your conduct has resulted in a material breach of your contractual terms and conditions, which irreversibly destroys the trust necessary to continue the employment relationship,” her employer was quoted as saying in a statement.

Protests with posters and sandwiches

According to, the value of the sandwich was “daily Mail” About 1.50 francs. Rodriguez himself comes from Ecuador and urgently needs a job with a wage of about 15 francs per hour.

That's why she has now filed a lawsuit for discrimination and unfair dismissal. After the first media reports, Rodriguez received so much support, some activists even traveled to the law firm and left cans of tuna and sandwiches. The posters say: “We are not the dirt, we are the clean.”

The union now wants to support Rodriguez in the lawsuit. Cleaners are frequently sacked for “frivolous reasons”, the chairman tells the Daily Mail. “She wouldn't have complained if someone else was eating a sandwich — and certainly not if he was a lawyer.”