Courts / Ireland / Report

Elderly shopkeeper must pay €19k for sexual harassment

Summary

An elderly shopkeeper, Tom O'Sullivan, owner of Tom's Lucky Trading, was ordered by the Workplace Relations Commission to pay €19,136 in compensation for sexual harassment after a former employee, Paul Uzell, alleged that O'Sullivan repeatedly touched his bottom and testicles and made sexually suggestive comments. The tribunal found that O'Sullivan's conduct, which he claimed was "funny" and encouraged, was in fact "unwelcome" and created an offensive working environment. O'Sullivan, aged in his late 70s, denied the allegations and argued the claim was opportunistic, noting that it was not raised while he was employed. The adjudicating officer, Brian Dalton, accepted the evidence as credible, noting that the behaviour occurred frequently and crossed personal boundaries. A separate unfair dismissal claim by Uzell was rejected, with the tribunal ruling that he had resigned. The decision also highlighted aggressive exchanges between the parties during a 2021 meeting.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Elderly shopkeeper must pay €19k for sexual harassment. Charges or matters: sexual harassment. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• May 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
• 5 May 2021 Other
• 2023-11-09 Publication

Why: At the Workplace Relations Commission, Tom O'Sullivan, owner-operator of Tom's Lucky Trading, said the touching alleged "never occurred at the workplace" and accused his former employee, Paul Uzell, of taking an "opportunistic" sexual harassment claim because the employment relationship had ended with a falling-out between them. CNI source report

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report