Courts / Dublin / Report

Banker who moonlighted in Dublin pub wins €25k for 'heartless' dismissal

Date
2023-12-21

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Alan Ecock, a banking professional who had worked as a barman at Kavanagh's pub for nearly 30 years, was dismissed by the pub's owners in April for cost‑cutting. He claimed the dismissal was heartless and unlawful. Ecock had been employed full‑time by AIB since 1994 and worked two nights a week at the pub, a fact unknown to his bank colleagues. The pub's owners, the Peacock family, argued that Ecock was self‑employed and therefore not entitled to employment rights. The tribunal found Ecock was an employee under the Revenue code, and that the owners had breached the Unfair Dismissals Act by failing to consult or offer alternatives. Ecock was awarded €22,750 for unfair dismissal, €2,000 for lack of notice, and €1,000 for no written statement, totalling €25,750. The case was heard under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and related statutes.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Banker who moonlighted in Dublin pub wins €25k for 'heartless' dismissal. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

2023-12-21 Publication

Why: The worker, Alan Ecock, said he kept up his work at Kavanagh's of Aughrim Street in Dublin 7 despite starting a career in banking in 1994 because he was trying to provide for his mother after his father passed away. CNI source report