A Halfords manager claims the firm has blamed him for suffering a life-changing injury that has prevented him from working after he was attacked by two shoplifters.
The assault
Marty Scott, 57, was kicked in the head and suffered a stroke shortly after trying to stop the thieves from fleeing the store.
The company he works for initially offered him just £16,000 in compensation, and went as far as to blame him for suffering the injury at the store in Stockton, County Durham.
The listed company’s lawyers reportedly told Martin, who worked for Halfords for 40 years: ‘It is company policy not to attempt to retrieve stock or aggravate the situation and the claimant went directly against this policy, placing himself and potentially others at risk.
Police could not identified them
‘To rub salt in the wound, the case against the two thieves was dropped because police could not identify them, despite the fact that there was clear CCTV footage of the incident.
Marty seemingly knew that something like this would happen at least two months before the attack happened, telling his bosses in a letter: ‘We preach that our colleagues are more important than stock, which they are.
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‘I have a massive concern. I worry that sooner or later a colleague is going to get hurt or a colleague is going to hurt a thief because the abuse and threat is too much.’
While Halfords later upped its compensation offer to £20,000, Marty rejected this and is suing the company.
His wife, 51-year-old Kim, told the Sun: ‘It’s an appalling way to treat someone. Shoplifting is out of control. This is what happens when someone tries to stop these people helping themselves.
‘It makes us so angry to read those words now, he spelled it out for them that something was going to happen – and the person he feared for turned out to be him.’
Marty’s brother-in-law has set up a GoFundMe page for him to assist him financially.
