Creche worker accused of hitting child loses unfair dismissal case

The childcare worker still denies hitting the child, but the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudicator said that the employer was entitled to prefer the evidence of two other employees that contradicted her. File photo

A Child Care Assistant sacked for allegedly hitting a child in the care of a creche has lost her unfair dismissal action.

This follows Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Adjudicator, Anne McElduff, finding that the decision by the Child Care and Early Education Facility to dismiss the woman in July 2019 was not unfair.

Ms McElduff stated that a serious complaint was made against the childcare assistant by a colleague and this was to some extent corroborated by another worker.

She said that notwithstanding that the Child Care Assistant maintains her absolute and categorical denial of the allegation of hitting the child, she was satisfied that the employer was entitled to prefer the evidence of Employees A and B on the balance of probabilities.

Ms McElduff stated that given the nature of the employer's business and the policy and legal framework within which it works, she was also satisfied that the sanction of dismissal fell within the band of reasonable responses available to the employer.

The alleged incident

In the case, a worker at the facility told her employer that she witnessed the child care assistant hit the child with her hand on the right temple as the children were waiting for their melons and crackers at the creche on July 2, 2019.

This alleged strike of the hand occurred after the child moved her cup causing water to go over a table.

The co-worker who witnessed the alleged incident stated that the child started to cry and she said to the Child Care Assistant “there is no need to hit her on the head” and, in response, the Child Care Assistant allegedly just grunted back at her saying "Hmm".

A second worker told the creche that she heard her colleague say to the Child Care Assistant “there is no need to hit her on the head".

The Child Care Assistant denied emphatically that she hit the child and instead just called her “a cheeky monkey” in a light-hearted way.

However, the woman was dismissed 10 days later on July 12 and the dismissal letter stated that “management has determined your actions on the 2nd July 2019 were abusive behaviour and physical and verbal assault of the child….These actions amounted to gross misconduct.” 

The creche worker's claims

The dismissed child care assistant claimed that she was the subject of a false allegation of hitting a child in her care.

The child care assistant maintained that at no time in the course of this interaction with the child did she hit the child as alleged and that she strongly denied any such allegation which was contrary to her character and at odds with her previous experience.

She said that her good name and reputation was of vital importance to her, that she was a person of good character, that her past references demonstrated that she was a professional child care worker and that she is “kind, gentle and respectful”.

The woman stated that she strongly took issue with the statements of Employees A and B which she claimed were not credible or substantiated.

The woman reiterated that there never had been a complaint of this nature against her, that there were no previous workplace issues and that the decision to dismiss was unwarranted, pre-determined and disproportionate.

The woman claimed that she was dismissed because she was pregnant. However, this was dismissed by Ms McElduff.