Woman awarded €148k after unfair dismissal

A SENIOR executive at a Dublin-based computer software company has been awarded €148,000 after being wrongfully fired over allegations that she had shared sensitive information with work colleagues.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) ordered Emuse Technologies of Columbia Mills, Sir John Rogerson Quay, to pay compensation to its former human resources manager, Lorraine Fitzpatrick, after it ruled she had been unfairly dismissed.

Lawyers for Ms Fitzpatrick of Mainham Wood, College Rd, Clane, Co Kildare claimed a disciplinary process used by the company to sack her were “a complete sham” and that she had never been directly accused of disclosing sensitive information.

They claimed Ms Fitzpatrick was dismissed because she was known to be actively trying to become pregnant.

The company claimed Ms Fitzpatrick had passed on information about financial issues and redundancies to two other employees which had undermined her own line manager and passed judgment about the company’s future operations.

Emuse Technologies argued that such behaviour was wholly inappropriate during an extremely sensitive time for the firm.

However, the EAT ruled that the conversation about possible redundancies was “only idle chitchat”.

The Tribunal said that Ms Fitzpatrick’s conduct was “at most indiscreet”.

The EAT said Ms Fitzpatrick’s conversation was “gossip and backbiting and furthermore in October 2008 the majority of people discussed the economy”.

It found the evidence of Emuse’s vice-president for programming was “fairly eloquent”. However, it awarded Ms Fitzpatrick €148,000 as “just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances”.