Courts / Ireland / Report

Charity supported woman's 'outlandish claims' while shelving male colleague's complaints, WRC told

Summary

The Workplace Relations Commission heard that Sankalpa CLG settled a dismissal claim with an unnamed male employee, who withdrew statutory complaints under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and Employment Equality Act 1998 pending implementation of agreed terms. The settlement followed evidence that the charity supported the "outlandish claims" of a female colleague, identified as Ms A, while shelving the male worker's complaints of a "campaign of lies and false accusations." A witness described Ms A as a "Walter Mitty" who allegedly targeted the complainant with harassment since May 2020, including unfounded allegations of serious sexual misconduct. Although the charity's solicitor requested time to review a 42-minute recording of a board meeting, the matter was resolved on the day. The complainant signed papers instructing the WRC to close his case within weeks, contingent on payment and implementation of the settlement. This follows a separate earlier decision where adjudicating officer Kevin Baneham found that former director Edel Ambrose was subjected to whistleblower retaliation, resulting in an €83,000 award. The charity is currently appealing that award to the Circuit Court. The WRC granted anonymity to the charity's directors and staff in these proceedings.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Charity supported woman's 'outlandish claims' while shelving male colleague's complaints, WRC told. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• May 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• September 2020 Other
• 7 August 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 11 July 2020 Other
• 2023-07-11 Publication

Why: Ms A had claimed in May 2020 that the complainant had set other staff against her "because she wouldn't go out with him", the witness said. CNI source report

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report