The Labour Court increased compensation for an unnamed former Traffic Supervisor at Connex Transport Ireland Limited from €7,500 to €14,000 after finding his dismissal unfair. In a decision signed on 21 December 2005, it allowed the union's appeal and disallowed the company's appeal. The worker had been dismissed in December 2004 after sending LUAS operational information to the Rail Procurement Agency without management's knowledge.
Connex said the worker sent the information to undermine its standing with the Rail Procurement Agency and treated the conduct as gross misconduct. The union argued he was communicating operational difficulties in an environment where discussion with the agency was open and encouraged.
A Rights Commissioner had found dismissal excessively harsh and recommended €7,500, saying reinstatement was not an option because relations had become strained. The Labour Court agreed that the dismissal was unfair and found the recommended compensation inadequate, increasing it to €14,000.