A workers' union has decided to donate £50 to Comic Relief to highlight an Oxford company's "small-mindedness" in refusing to allow a member of staff to raise funds for the charity.

Super Conductivity Oxford Instruments began disciplinary proceedings against a worker who offered colleagues the chance to take a peek at his pay-slip in return for a donation to the charity.

His fundraising activity at the firm's Eynsham headquarters was stopped by bosses and he was made to appear before a disciplinary hearing in March.

A second worker used the company's e-mail system to advertise a sponsored head shave, but faced no action.

The hearing against the first worker was eventually abandoned with no action taken against him.

But the GMB union, which represented him, called on the company to make a donation to Comic Relief to compensate for the cash he would have raised.

Oxford Instruments told the Oxford Mail that a variety of charitable donations were made by the firm and no donation was made to Comic Relief in relation to the incident.

Now the GMB has decided to stump up a token £50 donation to Comic Relief to draw attention to the company's behaviour.

Sue Such, union branch secretary, said: "This £50 is merely a token and demonstrates the small mindedness of the company.

"GMB members raise thousands of pounds every year for all sorts of charities."

The company, which employs about 90 people at Eynsham, Abingdon, and Osney Mead, Oxford, making medical scanners and other equipment, was unavailable for comment about the GMB donation.