The Labour Court increased compensation for John Devereux’s unfair dismissal from €24,000 to €35,000 on the employer’s appeal. The Court’s determination was dated 11 November 2019.
Devereux had worked for Murphy SuperValu Rosslare Harbour Alan Murphy t/a SuperValu Rosslare Harbour since 2001 and had an unblemished employment record. The employer dismissed him after an incident in which he touched a student on work placement in the store. The employer said it regarded his conduct as sexual harassment; Devereux said the touch was a joke and denied sexual intent.
The Court found the disciplinary process procedurally unfair because Devereux had not been told that sexual harassment, sexual motivation and pre-planning were at issue, and he had not had a chance to answer those matters. It also found the dismissal disproportionate to the evidence and outside the range of reasonable employer responses. The Court determined that the dismissal was unfair and ordered the employer to pay €35,000 compensation for his loss, varying the earlier decision.