Courts / Ireland / Report

Accountant accused of 'naively' discussing tender fails in constructive dismissal claim

Summary

Cliona Holt, a group commercial accountant at Veolia Energy Services Ireland Ltd, was suspended after an email she circulated in April 2023 revealed she had discussed a tender with an employee of a contracting firm. Veolia argued the email breached its anti‑bribery and corruption policy and that Holt had disclosed confidential information. Holt claimed she had been encouraged by Veolia to discuss such matters. The Workplace Relations Commission found that while the suspension was "unreasonable", Holt's conduct after the suspension was "entirely unreasonable". She had refused occupational health appointments, demanded her grievance be heard before medical clearance, and resigned abruptly. The WRC rejected Holt's claim for constructive dismissal under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, concluding she had not met the legal standard for constructive dismissal. The decision was issued by adjudicator Breiffni O'Neill.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Accountant accused of 'naively' discussing tender fails in constructive dismissal claim. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• April 2023 Other
• 28 July 2023 Other
• 23 August Other
• 2024-07-26 Publication

Why: Veolia informed the WRC that its operations manager, Declan White, had discussed the matter with a project manager at the client firm, which ultimately determined that because Ms Holt's contact "would not have any decision-making role in the tender process", the client was satisfied its tender process "had not been compromised". CNI source report

Case subjects

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report