WRC awards €2,000 after employee’s dismissal found unfair on procedural grounds

The WRC awarded an employee €2,000 after finding her dismissal unfair on procedural grounds. It also upheld her minimum-notice complaint; her working-time complaint was withdrawn. The decision was dated 12 April 2017. The sales assistant was dismissed after taking photographs at work that were later used in her husband’s personal injury proceedings. The WRC considered the policy breach serious enough to justify dismissal if the process had been fair, but found the employer acted with undue haste and failed to give proper advance notice of the first disciplinary meeting. The officer found the employee had made a substantial contribution to her dismissal and had made less than acceptable efforts to mitigate her loss. The employer was also required to pay her statutory minimum notice entitlement.