Chip shop worker wins pounds 15,000 over strip-search

A CHIP SHOP worker strip-searched after she was accused of stealing has received pounds 15,000 from her former employer following legal action by her trade union.

The Harry Ramsden chip restaurant paid the money to a former cashier who was forced to peel down to her underwear after accusations that she took money from a till. The woman, in her thirties, had worked in the restaurant at Guiseley, near Leeds, West Yorkshire, for 14 years until the incident.

John Hardman, the restaurant's solicitor, who confirmed the payment had been made, said: 'The matter has been settled without admissions of liability.'

The woman, who was so embarrassed by the incident she wishes to keep her identity secret, said she was working on the till when she was called before the manager. 'He said a lady had seen me put money in my pocket. I said I would not do a thing like that, but he said 'empty your pockets'. So I did.

'Then he said to the assistant manager 'go get a female member of staff, I want her strip-searched',' she added. The woman was then taken to an upstairs room and ordered to strip in the presence of the female colleague. No money was found.

After the incident she quit her job and reported the matter to her union, the Transport and General Workers, which took legal action. 'I was just so embarrassed. Even though I was innocent they made me feel guilty. I'd worked there for 14 years and on my last shift they did not even say goodbye,' she said.

John Durkin, a TGWU district official, said: 'This poor woman was in such a state after being strip-searched that she didn't even tell her husband for days. It affected her very badly.

'She carried on working for four months but during that time she went through hell at work. Whenever she saw two members of staff talking together she thought they were gossiping about her.'

Union solicitors won the compensation award by successfully arguing that the waitress was falsely imprisoned during her ordeal.