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Presenter claims RTÉ sacked him after he reported sexual harassment allegations

Summary

Former 2FM presenter Chris Greene has brought complaints against RTÉ before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, and the Payment of Wages Act 1994. At a preliminary hearing, Mr Greene's barrister, David Byrnes BL, alleged that his client was penalised and subsequently dismissed after reporting alleged sexual harassment and workplace impropriety to 2FM chief Dan Healy. Mr Byrnes further claimed that a referral to the Department of Social Protection's Scope section constituted a second protected disclosure. RTÉ, represented by Mairead McKenna SC, disputed that Mr Greene was an employee and argued that the penalisation claim was unclear. The adjudicator, Breiffní O'Neill, noted that the connection between the alleged disclosures and penalisation was not sufficiently detailed in the written submissions. He directed the complainant to provide further written submissions by mid-December, including specific dates and names, while noting that RTÉ had been 'caught on the hop' by the novel jurisdictional argument. The adjudicator gave RTÉ until mid-January to respond and adjourned the matter. The next hearing date is to be confirmed in due course by the WRC, with up to five witnesses expected to give evidence.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Presenter claims RTÉ sacked him after he reported sexual harassment allegations. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• 2023-11-27 Publication

Why: Mr Byrnes also advanced the argument that because his client's employment status had already been determined by the Department of Social Protection, the WRC had "no jurisdiction" to rule on the same matter – though he accepted it might be the first time that argument had been advanced before the tribunal. CNI source report

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report