A MAN HAS been awarded €7,500 for unfair dismissal after getting into an altercation with his old boss.
This comes through a decision made by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
The incident happened after Marc McNally, the appellant in the case, was involved in an altercation with one of his former managers in a car park outside Fallon’s Bar, in Kilcullen, Co Kildare.
On 30 September 2012, the appellant noticed four men sitting in a vehicle in the car park of the bar and restaurant where he worked. Noticing one of the men was his former employer, the appellant approached the car and the altercation happened.
Protracted dispute
Following this, McNally was suspended from his work after the general manager informed him that a complaint had been lodged against him by a customer. It is said that the general manager told him at this time that he could not tell him what the nature of the complaint was.
Following this, the appellant asked that an independent person oversee any hearing that would take place in relation to the matter. He also raised a previous grievance he had about being bullied by the manager of the restaurant.
A meeting was held on 23 October with the owner of the business, the restaurant manager and the chef. During the course of the meeting a disagreement happened between the restaurant manager and the appellant over whether or not the customer complaint had been handed over.
Following this meeting, the appellant refused to sign the minutes and was called to a subsequent disciplinary hearing which he refused to attend as it was due to be chaired by the company’s accountant rather than an independent party.
The owner of the company considered this non-attendance grounds for dismissal by reason of gross misconduct.
How was the matter resolved?
Receiving a copy of the minutes for the meeting on the 12 November, the appellant believed that his career was finished.
The owner of the business said the dismissal had been issued as he had become frustrated with the appellant, whom he had previously had a “wonderful working relationship” with.
He did subsequently attempt to reverse the decision, writing to him on 13 December 2012 to say he had revoked his dismissal and was instead issuing him with a first and final written warning.
It was found by the tribunal that the respondent in the case failed to conduct a full investigation into the incident, and on account of this, the disciplinary meetings it held were considered invalid.
The award was given under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 2007.
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