Former employee awarded €15k for wrongful dismissal

The country’s leading manufacturer of PVC windows and doors has been ordered to pay a former employee €15,000 in compensation for wrongly firing him over his refusal to sign a letter and his leaving the factory grounds for 20 minutes.

The Employment Appeals Tribunal ruled that Futura Frames based in Bandon, Co Cork, acted excessively in its decision to sack the worker in such circumstances. The EAT said the actions of Vincent Shorten were not of sufficient gravity to warrant dismissal, despite the fact that he had a poor disciplinary record and was on a final warning at the time of his sacking.

Mr Shorten of Sunmount, Upper Coolfada, Bandon, had worked with the company for 11 years before his dismissal on May 14, 2010. Earlier that month Mr Shorten, who was on short time, turned down the offer of an extra day’s work on the Friday of a bank holiday weekend. He subsequently refused to sign a letter prepared by Futura Frame’s production supervisor which was drafted to note that he had been offered a day’s work and to advise him that the relevant Government department would be informed that work had been available to him.

Mr Shorten became angry and walked off the premises but returned around 20 minutes later and said he had cancelled arrangements and would be available for work on the Friday.

The incident led to a disciplinary process which resulted in Mr Shorten being fired.

Mr Shorten claimed he had been bullied and excessively pressurised by his supervisors who constantly criticised his work during his latter years with the company.

In a separate case, the EAT ruled the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork had not unfairly sacked a worker who had made an unsubstantiated accusation of theft against a colleague. Anne O’Donoghue failed in her action for unfair dismissal against the hospital after the EAT said a letter she wrote could not be interpreted in any way other than she was making an insinuation of theft against a colleague.

Ms O’Donoghue of Buckley’s Meadow, Rope Walk, Blackrock, Cork, disputed claims that she had made an allegation of theft and stressed she had merely expressed concern that she had been able to open her colleague’s filing cabinet with her own key and reported seeing items belonging to the hospital there.

The EAT said Ms O’Donoghue had not helped her case by failing to attend a number of meetings arranged to discuss the issue. The EAT observed that she also had issues with the person who was the subject of her allegation of theft.