The Labour Court overturned a €7,050 unfair dismissal award to Tony Hallahan on Q-Park Limited’s appeal, finding that his summary dismissal was fair. The determination was dated 22 July 2019.
Hallahan worked full-time as a parking host for Q-Park from 2004 until his dismissal in September 2017. During a shift at the company’s Cork car park, he caused his chair to strike and crack a glass wall in the attendant’s office. Hallahan said the chair had caught on damaged flooring and that the damage was accidental; he said he had apologised.
Q-Park treated the incident as gross misconduct. The Labour Court found that dismissing Hallahan was neither substantively nor procedurally unfair, and that the sanction was proportionate to the seriousness of the incident and his continuing lack of remorse. It overturned the adjudication officer’s decision and set aside the €7,050 compensation award.