Courts / Offaly / Report

'Quite simply beyond belief': company sacked worker recovering from broken pelvis

Summary

A crane hire company, Gabriel O'Brien Crane Hire Ltd, was ordered to pay €14,000 to Enda Fox after the Workplace Relations Commission found the dismissal of Fox, who was recovering from a broken pelvis, to be an egregious breach of employment law. Fox, who fell from a crane in June 2022 and was declared fit to return to work, was terminated on 1 August 2022 after he had submitted sick notes and requested a form to claim sick pay. The company's representatives denied all claims of discrimination. The adjudicator noted the company's failure to provide reasonable accommodation and the lack of fair procedures, awarding Fox €10,000 for discrimination and an additional €4,000 for breach of the Terms of Employment Information Act 1994, bringing the total to €14,000. The case highlighted the company's disregard for disability rights and employment obligations.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: 'Quite simply beyond belief': company sacked worker recovering from broken pelvis. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• 30 June 2022 Other
• 1 August Other
• December 2023 Incident
• Christmas Other
• 2024-02-13 Publication

Why: Mr Fox explained that he was "declared okay" after the accident at Tullamore Hospital and went back to the site – only to find he could not stand up when he tried to get out of his colleague's car, he said. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

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Read the original CNI report