Oberstown worker sacked after incident where teenage detainee suffered injuries to head and ear

by Gordon Deegan

A worker at Oberstown Children Detention Campus for young offenders has been sacked after an incident in which a teenage detainee suffered injuries to his head and right ear.

The un-named worker sued for unfair dismissal but the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has upheld the decision to sack the man.

WRC Adjudication Officer, Rosaleen Glackin said that she did not find the man’s unfair dismissal complaint as ‘well-founded’.

The 90-bed State-run Oberstown campus located at Lusk in Co Dublin argued that as a result of the incident, the centre’s trust and confidence in the employee had been destroyed.

An Appeals Officer at Oberstown concluded that the decision to sack the man “was proportionate and procedurally correct”.

The sacking is the only one to occur at Oberstown since three detention schools were amalgamated to make up the Detention Campus in June 2016 and the only one to have taken place over the past three years.

The man is appealing the WRC ruling to the Labour Court and before the WRC, the man argued that prior to the events of October 2015, he enjoyed an impeccable employment history at Oberstown since first employed in 2002.

The man said that in May 2015, he was assaulted at work requiring him to attend A&E and that in July 2015, several young people escaped from the centre.

He said that in relation to the events of October 12, 2015 concerning the incident with the teenager, the man said that he was working in a unit that was short-staffed and he alleged he had not received the required necessary training in the management of assaults and injuries.

On the night in question, the worker said that he had received several complaints from other employees in relation to a named young person who was very aggressive.

He said that this young person had finished his supper and had been requested on several occasions to leave the dining area but had refused.

The man said that he requested the young person to leave but he refused, became violent and had to be restrained.

The man was suspended in November 2015 concerning the October 12 incident and three more recent incidents by the centre’s director while an external investigator was appointed.

The man’s solicitor argued that the dismissal in July 2016 was disproportionate. The man has not worked since.

The man submitted a ‘mercy appeal’ to the decision to sack him in December 2016 but this was dismissed by the director of the centre who rejected the appeal in February 2017.

A spokeswoman for Oberstown said today that it would not be appropriate to comment on the case as it is under appeal to the Labour Court.

She pointed out that “the most recent Oberstown report by HIQA positively noted that staff training had improved and a system of formal supervision had been introduced”.

She said: “Developing the Oberstown team and organisation is a cornerstone of our three-year strategy launched last year, the process of which staff actively fed into. Full induction, comprehensive training and procedures equip our team to work as safely and effectively with young people as we can possibly make it.

"Everybody has access to an external employment assistance programme for confidential support.

She added: “On site, we have full campus support services and a Peer Support Workers Programme– the first of its kind in the country was established in Oberstown. We are proud of that fact and our team find it works really well.

"Participants in the Peer Support Workers Programme provide a confidential, easily accessible and highly responsive ‘psychological first aid’ service for fellow staff that are experiencing emotional distress arising from a difficult event at work. This certification is a very valuable support to the team.”

A spokesman for the FORSA union said today that there are a number of ongoing issues at Oberstown, mostly relating to the safety of staff.

He said that the number of assaults/workplace injuries has reduced in the past year.