A worker at Marks & Spencer (M&S) has been sacked after telling the media that the company planned to cut redundancy pay to staff.
The employee attended a disciplinary hearing on Monday, and was told on Wednesday that he was being dismissed for gross misconduct.
M&S said he broke the company's rules and regulations and deliberately leaked internal company information.
The employee contacted the media last month over the redundancy pay cuts.
The member of staff, who had worked for the company for 25 years, told the press that the company wanted to cut redundancy payments by up to 25%.
Speculative comments
A M&S spokeman said that the employee was sacked because he made derogatory and speculative comments to the media, despite a variety of internal routes available to address any concerns.
He added that the company could not be confident that the man, who worked at its head office, would not disclose information in this way again.
M&S has changed its original proposals following consultations with staff but has still reduced redundancy payouts.
The GMB union who represented the employee at the disciplinary hearing claimed that this was a gross act of corporate bullying.
It accused M&S of not being concerned about promoting open discussion regarding the direction of the company and the way in which staff were being treated.
The union says it will be appealing against the decision.
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