Eamon Murphy awarded €39,750 after discriminatory dismissal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Eamon Murphy was awarded €39,750 after the Workplace Relations Commission upheld his complaints of discriminatory dismissal and failure to provide reasonable accommodation for his alcoholism. The proceedings were reported on 23 December 2022.

Murphy worked as a store manager for Michael Connolly & Sons Limited Supervalu Supermarket from 19 September 2005 until 27 January 2021. Both parties accepted that he was an alcoholic. Following an incident at work on 21 December 2019, he saw the company doctor and was declared fit to work in January 2020. He undertook to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and avoid a repeat of the incidents.

On 24 October 2020, while the employer’s family was away at a wedding, Murphy brought alcohol to the store and drank it there. He became unconscious and colleagues brought him home. The employer’s representative said he had been given full responsibility for the store and described the breach of trust as incalculable.

Murphy entered a 28-day residential treatment programme, during which the employer paid him. At an investigation meeting on 16 December 2020, he admitted he had been seriously intoxicated but said he was a changed man after treatment. A disciplinary hearing took place on 18 January 2021, and he was dismissed for gross misconduct.

Murphy appealed. His representative argued that the appeal did not properly account for his alcoholism or consider reasonable accommodation. The employer said its appeal finding was based on the repeated conduct and the breach of trust.

The adjudicator recognised alcoholism as a disability and criticised the employer’s failure to seek independent medical or addiction advice when considering accommodation. The adjudicator found that breach of trust could not be an effective employer defence in an equality case unless and until tested in a higher court. The report said Murphy’s losses were €103,000 and continuing, while the award was €39,750.