A former manager of a gas supply company has been awarded €120,000 compensation by the Employment Appeals Tribunal, for unfair dismissal. The Tribunal found that the company had not conducted a proper investigation into the former employee’s alleged breach of duties and had failed to adopt any disciplinary procedure.

Events Leading to the Dismissal

The manager had a tracker fitted to his vehicle to assist with emergency responses. He was advised that the tracker would not be used to record his working day. However, a director of the company decided to review the manager’s tracker reports and noted that the reports raised serious questions about the manager’s whereabouts during working hours. A number of meetings took place between the director and the manager in relation to the tracker reports. The manager was not told that these meetings were part of a disciplinary process.

The director then convened a board meeting (at which the manager was not present) to discuss the manager’s tracker reports. The director advised the board that the manager refused to give an explanation for the tracker report readings and that the relationship between the parties had broken down. The board decided to dismiss the manager on the advice of the director. The manager had not been given any opportunity to make representations to the board before it decided to dismiss him. No record of this meeting or the meetings between the manager and the director had been taken.

Tribunal’s Decision

The Tribunal stated that the company’s perceived refusal of the manager to answer questions about the tracker reports did not form a basis for his dismissal. It noted that the company failed to adopt any procedures when effecting the dismissal. In particular, the manager was not aware that a disciplinary process had been invoked and he was not given an opportunity to make representations to the board before it made its decision to dismiss him. It also found that the company should have kept some record of the meetings. Accordingly, the Tribunal awarded the former manager compensation of €120,000 (almost 68 weeks’ pay) for being unfairly dismissed, taking into account that the manager was in his fifties and would find it difficult to secure further employment.

This case highlights the need for employers to have up-to-date and comprehensive policies in place which should be followed if potential disciplinary issues arise. In addition, it should always be made clear to employees why and when a disciplinary process has commenced under an employer’s disciplinary procedure.

Contributed by Alicia Compton and Ciara Ruane.

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