Philip Evans loses unfair dismissal claim after sleeping on duty

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

Philip Evans’ unfair dismissal complaint against Interserve Security (First) Ltd was rejected by the Workplace Relations Commission after a hearing on 17 November 2021.

The WRC found that Evans had been observed sleeping at the reception desk of Deutsche Bank in Dublin, where he worked as a security officer. It concluded that the employer’s decision to dismiss him was within the range of reasonable responses, and that the dismissal was for sleeping on duty rather than his health and safety complaint about night work.

The commission also rejected his penalisation complaint, finding no connection between the health and safety concern and his dismissal. It separately upheld his minimum notice complaint and awarded him €1,123.20, equivalent to two weeks’ notice.