The Workplace Relations Commission found Pat the Baker Unlimited Company t/a Pat the Baker unfairly dismissed Padraig Cunningham and awarded him €13,400 gross. The decision was dated 7 June 2022.
Cunningham had worked for the company for 24 years when it dismissed him for gross misconduct after he admitted taking waste flour from its premises. He said he believed he had permission and challenged the fairness of the investigation and appeal. The company said it had followed a fair disciplinary process and cited traceability risks.
The WRC found serious procedural shortcomings: there was no record Cunningham had been given the Waste Control Policy or trained on it, and the decision maker’s stated zero-tolerance policy suggested pre-judgment. The company did not consider alternatives to dismissal, and appeal witnesses were re-interviewed without notes being taken or supplied to Cunningham. The WRC said Cunningham contributed somewhat to his dismissal, but did not account for that contribution in its loss calculation, which covered 21 weeks.