Sainsbury's chairman reprimanded for using staff on country home

LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The board of Sainsbury (Amsterdam: SJ6.AS - news) 's reprimanded its chairman David Tyler for using the British supermarket's staff and suppliers to help revamp his country house, it said on Monday.

Tyler, who has been chairman of Sainsbury's since 2009, was given a warning letter by the company's board but no further action was taken.

The case, first reported by The Guardian, related to Tyler's use of Sainsbury's employees and suppliers to help with the development and installation of an underfloor heating system at his barn conversion in East Sussex, southern England.

"This is a 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," Sainsbury's said in a statement.

"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."

Tyler is also chairman of property firm Hammerson and was finance director of GUS when it owned Argos and Burberry.

Last year Sainsbury's purchased Argos owner Home Retail in a 1.1 billion pounds ($1.37 billion) deal.

($1 = 0.8030 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey, editing by Louise Heavens)