The Labour Court upheld a €4,000 unfair dismissal award to Ann Faherty after rejecting Tesco Ireland Limited’s appeal. The determination was signed on 13 December 2018.
Tesco Ireland Limited dismissed Faherty after she left its store with a bottle of wine she had not paid for. Faherty accepted taking it but said she had forgotten to pay. The Court considered the incident serious enough to justify considering dismissal.
However, Faherty received notes of two witness meetings only at the second investigation meeting, after the outcome had been prepared. She was not given copies of the honesty and staff purchase policies she was accused of breaching. The Court found her dismissal procedurally unfair.
The Court also found that Faherty contributed substantially to her dismissal and took that into account when setting compensation.