Shannon Gleeson consumed the baguette after not being able to find safe food for her nut allergy, while working overseas for the first time.
She was later fired from the low-cost carrier on grounds of gross misconduct and theft after failing to ask her manager if the food had been paid for, The Sun reports.
An employment tribunal at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard last week that the 22-year-old stewardess had breached the airline’s policy by not asking for a receipt.
The panel heard that Gleeson may have been wrongly dismissed because easyJet’s policy placed no obligation on the consumer to see a receipt if food was given to them.
A fellow crew member told easyJet officials she had witnessed Gleeson and the aircraft’s cabin manager eating a bacon baguette and croque-monsieur, allocated for customers, in the galley, The Sun reports.
During the hearing, Gleeson said: “I am not a thief and that was what I was labelled as.”
The tribunal heard how easyJet had launched an investigation following the incident onboard a flight from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on January 3, 2015.
Gleeson, who had been employed by easyJet for three years, was later called in to a meeting about the investigation during which she apologised for the incident and offered to pay the £4.50 fee but was sacked alongside the cabin manager for theft and gross misconduct.
The hearing heard that there was no dispute that Gleeson had eaten the food from her manager and not paid for it herself, but breached company policy by not asking for proof her manager had paid for the product.
The case was settled out of court by the airline for an undisclosed sum on January 11 after it was assessed there was no way of recording missing stock from a flight.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “EasyJet has settled this matter with Ms Gleeson and so cannot comment in any further detail other than to say that we have clear and well-understood policies and the honesty of our employees is really important.”
