Tesco ordered to re-hire worker who called manager 'useless'

Vivian Cullen of Siptu, representing the worker, accused Tesco of a cynical attempt to silence a genuine grievance by a worker and claimed the concept of bullying was being weaponised against the warehouse employee.

Tesco has been ordered to re-engage a warehouse operative who was fired for calling his line manager “useless.” The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that the employee, Cathal Hussey, had been unfairly dismissed by Tesco Ireland Limited after it sacked him for gross misconduct.

Although the investigation and disciplinary process used by the retailer to reach its decision was deemed to be procedurally fair, the WRC found that the sanction of dismissal was disproportionate.