Criticism of Tesco and related litigation
As with any large corporation, the Tesco supermarket chain is often involved in litigation, usually from claims of personal injury from customers, claims of unfair dismissal from staff, and other commercial matters. Two notable cases were [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_v_Tesco_Stores_Ltd"]Ward v Tesco Stores Ltd[/URL], which set a precedent in so-called 'trip and slip' injury claims against retailers, and [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco_Supermarkets_Ltd_v_Nattrass"]Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass[/URL], which reached the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lords"]House of Lords[/URL] and became a leading case regarding the corporate liability of businesses for failures of their store managers (in a case of misleading advertising). Criticism of [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco"]Tesco[/URL] includes disapproval of the effects supermarket chains can have on farmers, suppliers and smaller competitors; along with claims of generally poor labour relations with its staff concerning sick leave regulations.[[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL]] Accusations concerning using cheap and/or child labour in [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh"]Bangladesh[/URL] amongst other places,[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-0"][1][/URL] have also arisen since the millennium .
Tesco has been heavily criticised by the media in both the UK and Ireland among other places over its comparatively more ruthless and harsh business tactics compared to its rivals, all of whom stand charged, like Tesco, of bullying farmers to lower their prices to unsustainable levels. [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitrose"]Waitrose[/URL] was the only major supermarket to come out of this accusation relatively unscathed. Other less prominent disputes have occurred in [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand"]Thailand[/URL], Ireland and Hungary.[[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL]]
Tesco has been accused of abandoning the UK Government's planned Eco-town at [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanley_Grange"]Hanley Grange[/URL] in Cambridge.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-1"][2][/URL]
Tesco has been subject to several claims of apparently out-of-date food being 'back-labelled' to appear to still be in date,[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-2"][3][/URL] poor café hygiene[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-3"][4][/URL] and a staff member contracting [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionellosis"]legionnaires' disease[/URL] in the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrexham"]Wrexham[/URL] store.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-bbc1-4"][5][/URL][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-5"][6][/URL]
Tesco has been involved in the following cases, in the areas of employment law, personal injury, intellectual property disputes, taxation amongst others.
Heath and safety issues
[B][[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Criticism_of_Tesco&action=edit§ion=21"]edit[/URL]] Food hygiene allegations[/B]
On 22 May 2007 the BBC's [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower"]Whistleblower[/URL] programme showed undercover footage detailing breaches of food hygiene rules in a branch of Tesco. The Whistleblower reporter applied for a job following a tip-off from a former employee. Breaches included the sale of products after their sell-by date; allegations that the company illegally and sold 'back-labelled' products after their use by date; falsification of temperature records; and the sale of partially cooked mince mixed with uncooked mince.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-35"][36][/URL]
A staff member also contracted [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionellosis"]legionnaires' disease[/URL] in the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrexham"]Wrexham[/URL] store.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-bbc1-4"][5][/URL]
In addition to this the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Food_Safety_Authority_of_Ireland&action=edit&redlink=1"]Food Safety Authority of Ireland[/URL], has on a number of occasions ordered the recall of Tesco branded products, including a case of glass contamination.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-fsai.ie-36"][37][/URL][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-ReferenceA-37"][38][/URL][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-ReferenceB-38"][39][/URL] Environmental Health Officers served a closure order on Tesco's store in Prussia Street, Dublin, the day after they inspected it, for a number of breaches of Food Hygiene Regulations.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-autogenerated1-39"][40][/URL]
[B][[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Criticism_of_Tesco&action=edit§ion=22"]edit[/URL]] Tesco's Kick drink[/B]
On 16 April 2007, [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Northern_Ireland"]BBC Northern Ireland[/URL]'s current affairs programme Newsline reported that the head of Newtownbreda High School in [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast"]Belfast[/URL] wanted its local Tesco store to stop selling the Kick energy drink, which was thought to be responsible for caffeine-induced misbehaviour in the classroom. The school had gone so far as to ban children from bringing the drink on to its grounds. In other schools it was also connected with caffeine addiction problems and insomnia in young male pupils.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-40"][41][/URL] A school in Worthing, [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sussex"]Sussex[/URL] banned both Kick and [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull"]Red Bull[/URL] over the same problem.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco#cite_note-41"][42][/URL]
Tesco rejected the school's claims saying "... a normal serving contains no more caffeine than a cup of coffee. There is currently no legislation which would allow us or any other retailer to ban the sale of this or any other energy drink to children."[[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL]]
Its reputation has also been recently tarnished by allegations of abuse and the excessive use by young male party-goers since 2006 to apparently 'avoid becoming drunk' after taking excessive amounts of alcohol.[[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL]
[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tesco"]Criticism of Tesco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/URL]