A day after she was fired for giving away a single Timbit to a child, a Tim Hortons employee in London, Ont., has her job back.
Nicole Lilliman, a single mother of four, has been rehired at another Tim Hortons restaurant after what the chain described as an “overreaction” by a manager.
Lilliman was fired yesterday after she was seen giving one of the small blobs of fried dough to a small child who came in with a regular customer on Monday.
The 27-year-old woman, who worked at the outlet for three years, said she didn’t see any harm in giving away the 16-cent treat, since Timbits are often doled out to children and dogs.
But a manager fired Lilliman after telling her that giving food away free was against the rules.
Hours later, Lilliman received a call offering her a job at another Tim Hortons store.
"She wasn't comfortable returning to the same location, so she has been rehired at another location but with the same franchise owner," said Tim Hortons spokesperson Rachel Douglas.
Douglas said Lilliman was very "gracious" in accepting the offer, and will be repaid for any loss in pay.
Tim Hortons does not have a corporate policy governing the giving away of doughnuts, Douglas said, adding that franchise owners are free to set their own policies.
"We're working with the store owner on this policy,” she said, calling Lilliman’s firing “an overreaction and not appropriate.”
At worst, she said Lilliman should have been warned about the owner's policy.
Douglas also said it's common for Timbits to be given away if they are day-olds.
"This incident was very disappointing for us," she said.
With files from Canadian Press