Joseph Callaghan loses unfair dismissal claim over Matrix screening

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

A Workplace Relations Commission adjudicator dismissed Joseph Callaghan’s unfair dismissal claim after his employer accused him of deleting the correct Matrix film from a cinema server following a mistaken screening. The proceedings were reported on 14 July 2022.

The Matrix Reloaded was shown instead of The Matrix at Omniplex Sligo in July 2019. Callaghan said the correct film had not been delivered and the mistake had not been identified beforehand because the titles were similar.

The company said its server logs showed The Matrix had been delivered on 2 July 2019 and deleted shortly after the wrong film was shown. It accused Callaghan of intentionally covering up the mistake and dismissed him on 12 February 2020.

The report said Mr Walsh argued that there was no proof Callaghan deleted the film, that other staff had access to the projector room and that there were alternative explanations for its absence or unavailability. He argued that there were no grounds for disciplinary action and that dismissal was disproportionate.

Adjudicator Shay Henry said CCTV showed Callaghan in the server room when the deletion occurred. He concluded that the company had reasonable grounds to believe Callaghan was guilty of misconduct and that dismissal fell within the range of reasonable responses.