The Workplace Relations Commission found that Gillian O ‘Regan was unfairly dismissed and ordered her former employer, Derry Court Company Limited, to pay her €21,000 in compensation for financial loss. The decision was dated 10 August 2023.
The complaint arose after the company dismissed O ‘Regan for allegedly falsifying staff training records. The company said the records amounted to gross misconduct, breached trust and put its client relationship at risk. O ‘Regan accepted filling in the records but said she had been trying to organise training, had not intended to deceive and had not been shown how to complete the task.
The adjudication officer found that the investigation was unfair and fragmented, and that O ‘Regan’s submissions had not been sufficiently weighed. The client had not been told about the records issue, the training objective had been achieved and the feared harm had not materialised. The officer found dismissal disproportionate and said there was room for corrective action.
The officer also found that O ‘Regan had made a large contribution to her own demise. The €21,000 award covered actual and prospective financial loss.