Security officer awarded €13,500 for unfair dismissal over alleged assault of minor

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) heard that a physical altercation had taken place in the store on February 7, 2020, as the security officer tried to prevent a customer from purchasing three energy drinks at a self-scan checkout.

 A former security officer has been awarded compensation of almost €13,500 after he was unfairly dismissed for allegedly assaulting a minor who was trying to pay for some energy drinks at a supermarket checkout.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) heard that a physical altercation had taken place in the store on February 7, 2020, as the security officer tried to prevent a customer from purchasing three energy drinks at a self-scan checkout.

After reviewing CCTV footage of the incident, the security company claimed that their former employee had pushed the customer in the first instance. When the customer retaliated, the security officer struck him in the face.

The customer was accompanied by a family member, who the company said had intervened to prevent further fighting. After the pair made a phone call, three women attended the store and began to “scream and shout”.

They claimed that the customer who had allegedly been assaulted was 17 years old.

The security officer received a call from his employer the following day, instructing him not to attend work because there were more than 20 people “waiting for him” at the supermarket who were understood to be linked to the customer.

He was suspended on full pay and attended an investigation on February 14, 2020. The matter was subsequently referred to a disciplinary hearing on February 28, and he was dismissed for gross misconduct on March 3.

Previous altercation

The former security officer told the WRC that he had previous knowledge of the customer and disputed that he was a minor. He said that the customer had previously shouted at him and threatened him.

The security officer said that the customer had stolen six energy drinks from the supermarket earlier on the day in question. When he returned to the store that evening, the security officer told him that he was not welcome and escorted him from the premises.

He returned again shortly afterwards and this time disregarded the security officer’s directions and took a pack of energy drinks to the self-scan checkout.

The security officer blocked the customer’s attempts to use the self-scan checkout three times and a “slight shuffle” ensued, which resulted in the alleged assault.

The former employee said that he had acted in self-defence by striking the customer, and claimed that his dismissal was disproportionate. He noted that he had a clean disciplinary record prior to the incident.

Flawed procedure

In her decision, WRC adjudication officer Patsy Doyle said that the dismissal was procedurally flawed from the outset, and questioned why witnesses had not been interviewed as part of the investigation.

She said the process had resembled a disciplinary exercise rather than a fact-finding exercise, and noted that the investigation had taken only “20 minutes”, which fell “far short” of best practice.

“I found the investigation in this case to be overly exclusive, brief and lacking in depth,” said Ms Doyle.

She concluded that the former employee's sacking had been disproportionate and he had been unfairly dismissed but she noted that he had contributed to his own dismissal by having insufficient regard for the company’s procedures.

Taking this into account, she awarded compensation of €13,420.80 to the former security officer and asked the company to review its disciplinary policy.