Compensation for bank chief after unfair dismissal

A Bank of Ireland manager sacked after he was identified as a link in an alleged pornographic chain of emails, has been awarded compensation for unfair dismissal.

At Bray Circuit Court, Judge Gerard Griffin, in a reserved judgment, said James Reilly, former manager in Bank of Ireland’s Blanchardstown branch, had been unfairly dismissed due to the bank’s failure to follow proper procedures.

However, the judge refused to reinstate him to his old job.

He awarded Mr Reilly compensation amounting to a year’s salary, 50% of the maximum award possible. He said Mr Reilly had contributed to his own downfall.

Bank of Ireland had challenged a decision from the Employment Appeals Tribunal which had found that Mr Reilly had been unfairly dismissed. It had ordered the bank to reinstate him.

Mr Reilly, of Edgewood Lawn, Blanchardstown, Dublin, was sacked in 2009 after an in-house investigation decided he had forwarded the emails to other staff and others associated with the bank.

Judge Griffin also awarded Mr Reilly his full legal costs.