The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Clonarn Clover Ltd to pay Eugene Carter €12,000 after finding his dismissal unfair. The decision was dated 29 June 2022. Carter had worked as a quality officer at an egg production plant, earning an annual salary of €36,000.
The company said it dismissed Carter for gross misconduct after he accessed the HR manager’s and managing director’s computers without authorisation. The adjudicator accepted that he had accessed both computers and emails improperly, but found the company’s disciplinary procedure classified the conduct as major misconduct, for which lesser sanctions were available. Dismissal was outside the range of reasonable responses.
The adjudicator also found that the HR manager had multiple roles in the process, including witness, complainant and investigator, while the HR manager and managing director had personal stakes in it. The separation needed between those involved in the different stages was absent, making the process procedurally unfair. The adjudicator found Carter had not made sufficient efforts to limit his losses and that his behaviour before and during the disciplinary process contributed to his dismissal; this was reflected in the redress.
The WRC found Carter’s complaint well founded and ordered the payment of €12,000, equivalent to four months’ wages. It considered compensation the appropriate remedy.