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Courts / Meath / Report

eBay call centre worker says he was forced to quit after reprimand for four-minute break

Date
2025-04-11
Stage
Hearing Or Decision
Primary locality
Navan
County
Meath

Summary

Eanna Donoghue, a former eBay customer support agent, claimed constructive dismissal after a written warning for a four‑minute period of inactivity on his computer. He said the warning followed a period of personal loss, including a friend's death, and that he had previously filed grievances against two operations managers. Donoghue's line manager, Niamh Seoighe, cited a screen recording showing he had not marked himself as available for up to five minutes after closing an email. The warning was upheld on appeal. Donoghue resigned on 5 March 2024, stating he was "unfairly treated" and forced to quit after the warning barred him from promotion. He has since found work as a motor mechanic and offered any compensation to charity. The tribunal will decide his claim by the end of April.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: eBay call centre worker says he was forced to quit after reprimand for four-minute break. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

Why: Her position was that the issue was exacerbated by Mr Donoghue's failure to use an hour specifically allotted for him to answer her queries on the downtime and because she "had to follow up several times". CNI source report

Case subjects

Eanna Donoghue

Applicant

Places mentioned

Secondary Mention

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Related court reports

Read the original CNI report

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