The High Court ordered Tizzard Holdings Unlimited Company, trading as Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort, to pay former Engineering Facilities Manager Gerard Finnin his salary and benefits while his wrongful dismissal proceedings continued. The interlocutory order followed a finding that Finnin had a strong case that the company’s disciplinary process may have breached fair procedures. The court did not decide the underlying claim or whether the dismissal was justified.
Mr Justice Tony O’Connor delivered the ruling on 16 May 2018. Finnin had been summarily dismissed in January after the company alleged that he removed two cases of alcohol from central stores and took them off the resort without authorisation. The judgment records that the boxes were beer. Finnin said he had secured them after finding them left at a store exit and intended to prevent further loss. The company’s human resources manager confirmed there was no specific policy prohibiting removal of stock items without authorisation.
The judge identified concerns about the process, including the general manager’s roles as investigator, accuser and adjudicator, and his contribution to the appeal decision. The court also cited a lack of transparency about the investigation and the sanctions considered, and said it was not clear that the standard of proof had been proportionate to the seriousness of the allegation. It found that Finnin had not, at that stage, been advised of alleged inconsistencies in a way that gave him a reasonable opportunity to address them. These were provisional conclusions on the interlocutory application, not final findings after trial.
The court considered that damages might not adequately address the reputational harm of a dismissal linked to a serious allegation. It also noted Finnin’s need for income and the company’s ability to recover damages under his undertaking if it ultimately succeeded. To preserve the position pending trial, the court restrained the company from making new contractual arrangements that would hinder Finnin’s return if a court later ordered it. It directed salary and benefits payments from 9 January 2018 until determination of the proceedings, and required Finnin to deliver a statement of claim within seven days of a request or reminder from the company’s solicitors. The parties could apply on three days’ notice to vary directions or the payments order.
On 1 June 2018, the salary and benefits order was stayed pending the company’s appeal, on terms that it pay Finnin €12,000 as soon as possible and €750 weekly. After a three-day hearing in March 2019, the High Court, by consent, vacated the orders of 16 May and 1 June 2018 and struck out the proceedings with no order as to costs.