Labour Court overturns suspension of Fingal County Council worker

The Labour Court overturned a two-week unpaid suspension imposed on a worker at Fingal County Council, finding that a disciplinary sanction was not warranted. Its decision was dated 25 July 2012. The worker had made payments to football players after funding was received from the FAI. He said he acted as a company director on the Council’s legal advice. Fingal County Council said he had been instructed not to make the payments. The Court accepted that he acted bona fide on that advice, but said he also had to have regard to lawful instructions from his employer. The Rights Commissioner had recommended reducing the suspension to four days without pay; the Labour Court amended that recommendation.