Gaming boss settles case over comment

French exec made off-colour remark to colleague

A MANAGER who was sacked after making a risqué remark to a female colleague has settled his unfair dismissal case.

Jean Philippe Grenet, 56, got into trouble last year after telling a female colleague at Galway-based video game makers EA Ireland that a company discussion shouldn’t be about seeing ‘who has the bigger d**k’.

Yesterday, the father-of-one settled his civil action against EA Ireland, which makes popular video games including FIFA Soccer, with an agreement that he is moving on from the company without the stigma of having been officially sacked.

The French native complained that he was sacked within days of his off-colour remark to an American colleague. He was initially fired from the global outfit ‘Clumsy’: Jean Philippe Grenet in November – less than six months after he was hired to run its Galway office.

He had ‘a lot at stake’ in going legal as he wanted to stay in Ireland with his family, his barrister Oisín Quinn SC told the court last year. He had moved his wife and child from France last year to take up the post and was his family’s main breadwinner. Just before Christmas, he won a temporary court injunction that allowed him to continue receiving his €160,000-a-year salary from EA into 2019.

And he’d been set to progress his case to a full hearing later this year, with the aim of holding on to his job permanently.

In the meantime, the company was banned by court order from sacking him or replacing him.

But yesterday, the High Court was told that the dispute had been settled following out-ofcourt talks, and that the company ‘wishes him well in his future career.’

Mark Connaughton SC, for EA Ireland, told the court that Mr Grenet’s original dismissal has been ‘withdrawn’ as part of the settlement. Mr Connaughton also acknowledged that Mr Grenet ‘was a senior member’ of EA’s team in Ireland.

Judge Tony O’Connor struck out the case. The judge – who previously urged both sides to resolve their differences out of court – praised them for reaching the agreement.

Although the settlement is confidential, it’s understood that Mr Grenet has now ‘moved on’ from EA Ireland.

Mr Grenet, EA’s ‘most senior man in Ireland’, was not in court. He had ‘worked hard to establish a reputation’ over a long career, only to be accused of ‘gross misconduct’ by his employer, his lawyers had argued. The executive was dismissed by EA after admitting to using the word ‘d**k’ during a video conference call. The American woman he spoke to on the conference call then made a sexual harassment complaint.

Mr Grenet claimed that the woman may have been motivated by ‘malice’ towards him as she had applied for his job.

Although Mr Grenet admitted to making a ‘clumsy’ remark, there was a dispute over what he actually said on the November 9 call.