The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Patrick O Connor €20,000 after finding Wexford County Council penalised him for making a workplace safety complaint. The decision, dated 8 June 2023, found that the council’s failure to act promptly on his complaint about serious assaults was followed by reduced duties and overtime.
O Connor said a co-worker strangled him with a seat belt and later threatened him. He said that after reporting the incidents in writing, he was isolated, lost duties and had overtime reduced. The council disputed that his work or overtime had been reduced and cited overtime records and operational reasons for some arrangements. The adjudicator accepted O Connor’s evidence that he was isolated, his duties diminished and his overtime reduced as a result of the protected complaint. The award reflected the seriousness of the allegations, the delay in investigating them and the subsequent detriments.