SuperValu worker challenges dismissal over alleged misconduct

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

Szymon Oasidrowski’s complaints under unfair dismissal and minimum notice legislation opened before the Workplace Relations Commission on 31 May 2024. SuperValu denied unfairly dismissing him. The company dismissed him for gross misconduct in June 2023 after more than a decade’s service at its Sutton, Dublin, store.

The hearing was told the company had accused him of breaches of procedures in 13 alleged incidents in March and April 2023. These included taking breaks while clocked in, failing to pay for food and using coins from a customer ‘take-a-penny’ tray to pay for items.

Disciplinary officer Lynne McManus accepted under cross-examination that there was no written policy on staff use of the tray. She said staff could use it on the same basis as customers, but only when clocked out, and that it would not be used for enough money to pay for a product. Disciplinary meeting minutes recorded Mr Oasidrowski saying: ‘I paid for all the items… I’m not a thief.’

The company concluded he had been overpaid for six hours and 35 minutes of breaks while clocked in, including two hours and 35 minutes when Ms McManus concluded he had been asleep in the canteen. His representative, James McEvoy, challenged that as an assumption. Ms McManus said his head was on the table and he had not moved; the tribunal was told Mr Oasidrowski’s position was that he had been unwell.

Niamh Daly, for the Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation, said the dismissal followed a thorough process with fair procedures. Mr Oasidrowski was expected to give evidence later, after the employer concluded its case.