Hotel manager awarded €50k for unfair dismissal

A former general manager of the Clayton Hotel in Sligo has been awarded €50,000 in compensation by the Workplace Relations Commission following a finding of unfair dismissal. Fergal Ryan was dismissed by Dalata Hotel Group PLC after investigations into cash payments made to workers outside normal payroll procedures, including payments to his partner, Kasia Smolinska, a former restaurant manager at the hotel. An adjudicating officer found that whilst Mr Ryan's conduct in approving such payments was inappropriate, the breaches of cash-handling policy did not constitute gross misconduct warranting dismissal. The officer noted that a reasonable employer would have issued a warning or reopened settlement negotiations rather than terminating employment. The decision also found that a letter Mr Ryan sent to his line manager, described as threatening and patronising, was properly excluded from disciplinary proceedings. The compensation award takes into account Mr Ryan's contribution to his dismissal and employment difficulties during the pandemic period.