Labour Court recommends €5,000 for G4S worker placed on unpaid suspension

The Labour Court recommended that G4S Secure Solutions (Irl) Ltd pay €5,000 to a worker after partly upholding his complaint about unpaid suspension. The decision was dated 18 January 2024. The worker, a security officer, had sought €30,000 for lost earnings during 59 weeks of unpaid suspension. The Court found he was not entitled to refuse to cooperate with the investigation by missing a scheduled meeting. But it also found the company had not taken sufficient steps to address his concerns before suspending him without pay. The Court noted that the company had not explained why it failed to tell him in advance what information pointed to his alleged involvement in the security breach, and that his long service appeared to have been disregarded. The recommended compensation took account of his contribution to the situation through his unwise decision not to engage with the investigation.