Courts / Ireland / Report

Worker 'subjected to interrogation' after canteen row is awarded €10k

Summary

Gerard Maunsell, a worker at Richard Boyle & Sons (2004) Ltd, claimed unfair dismissal after a canteen row on 12 November 2021. The dispute began when Maunsell threw a soap bottle at a colleague, identified only as "RR", after an exchange of racial slurs. Maunsell admitted to saying "F*** you, you f***ing prick" but denied using the word "foreign c***". He was called to a disciplinary meeting without prior notice and faced a process described by the employer as "serious misconduct". The Workplace Relations Commission found the disciplinary procedure "fundamentally flawed" and the dismissal "entirely disproportionate", noting that Maunsell had been interrogated and that the employer failed to consider his own complaints. The tribunal awarded Maunsell €11,340 in compensation for financial loss and loss of redundancy entitlements, while rejecting a secondary claim under the Payment of Wages Act. The case remains at the WRC stage.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Worker 'subjected to interrogation' after canteen row is awarded €10k. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• Friday, 12 November 2021 Other
• 22 November 2021 Incident
• 25 November Other
• 2023-04-17 Publication

Why: She said dismissal was "entirely disproportionate", in particular because there had been no consideration of the worker's own complaints against the colleague who had accused him. CNI source report

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report