Sainsbury's chairman caught using staff to work on country home

Sainsbury’s chairman has been sanctioned by the supermarket’s board after using the company’s staff and suppliers to revamp his country house.

David Tyler, who has led Sainsbury’s since late 2009, was sent a warning letter after an internal investigation found there had been “material breaches” of three company policies.

The supermarket head also paid £5,000 to charity in recognition of the work done by Sainsbury’s staff.

The revelation comes as a blow for the experienced board member, who is also currently chairman of Hammerson, a shopping centre developer, and on the board of Domestic & General Warranty.

He was previously chairman of Logica, an IT management consultancy, as well as private equity firm 3i and finance director of GUS, former Argos to Burberry group.

Sainsbury’s said in a statement: “This is an historical issue dating back to 2013. The chairman volunteered the information and the board conducted a thorough investigation in line with company policy, as they would with any other colleague in the same circumstances.

“As a result of the investigation, the chairman was given a warning but the board concluded that his failure to comply with company policy was unintentional, that he did not act dishonestly and made no financial gain.”

The chairman, who was paid £496,000 last year, was found using the services of a member of the supermarket’s sustainability team, who had expertise in green energy and engineering, to review plans for underfloor heating systems at his barn conversion near Lewes in East Sussex.

The supermarket’s review found that the chairman has paid the going market rate for the job and did not benefit financially. It also found that the £5,000 paid to the charity made up for the time spend by Sainsbury's staff on his project.

Despite this the non-executive directors, Mary Harris and Gary Hughes, who carried out the probe concluded that he had breached the company’s code of ethical conduct and guidelines on ethical suppliers as well as policy on conflict of interest and relationships at work.

“He received (paid for) services from an expert supplier due to his position that he would otherwise not have been able to. The ethical code also states that the company’s assets “should not be used to facilitate personal activities,” said the report.

It added that Tyler acknowledged “he was aware of the general spirit of the policies – though not all the details within them”.