A Morrisons store manager has said he was sacked after tackling a repeated shoplifter, who became aggressive while being escorted from the supermarket.

Sean Egan, 46, who had worked in the Aldridge store, near Walsall, for 29 years, said that during the incident in December, he had intervened when a shoplifter became abusive.

“As the store manager, I put myself in a position to protect my staff and customers. There’s a lot of pressure in retail to protect the product, to not lose money, as you would in any business and I tried to do that,” he said.

Morrisons said it could not comment on individual cases, but the health and safety of all colleagues and customers was of paramount importance.

At his disciplinary hearing, Egan, from Lanesfield in Wolverhampton, said he had been told he would be dismissed on the grounds of not following the company’s deter-and-not-detain policy.

“As part of the policy for me as the store manager, it is to escort him out the premises yet as I was doing so he was very aggressive and spitting at me,” he said.

Egan added that as he tried to remove the man from the store, he had been spat at again.

“I stepped forward and I flung my arm back – that was my instant reaction,” he said.

“I grabbed his arm to stop him entering his bag to grab something, and then an altercation happened.

“My thought is, ‘I’ve got to stop this guy. I don’t know what he’s going to do, not only to me, but anybody else’.”

Despite calling the police, the former manager was later investigated by Morrisons, he said.

“It’s the only job I’ve ever had and known since I was 17.”

Now the 46-year-old said he was struggling with his job prospects and personal life after being dismissed.

“It’s difficult to get on with my normal life, it’s impacted my personal life – with my children, my partner and socially,” Egan added.

“My last pay was January and we’re barely surviving.

“I’ve given so much to a business where I’ve actually lived for work… but it in that moment I felt like everything I had given was attacked.”

He expressed frustration over the lack of support and adequate policies to protect employees from theft and violence.

In a statement, a Morrisons spokesperson said: “We are continuing to take wide ranging action to address the threat of shoplifting or violence in our stores.

“The health and safety of all colleagues and customers is of paramount importance to Morrisons.

“We have very clear guidance, procedures and controls in place to protect our colleagues and customers from the risk of harm, which must be strictly followed.

“These include detailed procedures for handling shoplifting incidents, which are in place to protect both the colleague involved and surrounding colleagues and customers, and which seek to de-escalate and calmly control the situation.

“We will not ask colleagues to put themselves at risk.

“As a responsible employer, our focus is entirely on taking the correct action to ensure health and safety is maintained at all times.”

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