€15K TO WORKER SACKED FOR SMOKING IN HIS VAN
Bakery pays compo to man captured on CCTV
JOSEPH Brennan Bakeries has been ordered to pay €15,000 compensation to a worker for unfairly dismissing him for smoking in his own van in a staff car park.
Workplace Relations Commission adjudicator, David James Murphy, determined that Darren Kiernan’s claim for unfair dismissal were well founded.
Mr Murphy had calculated general operative Mr Tiernan’s overall loss of salary and costs at a combined €30,000.
However, Mr Murphy said the firm would have within their rights to issue a disciplinary sanction short of dismissal and cut the award by 50% to €15,000. Mr
Murphy said the firm failed to properly establish substantial grounds for their actions.
He added: “While they had evidence that he smoked on site they had not properly investigated the complainant’s claim that he had permission for this.”
Mr Murphy said there were “a number of serious defects” in the investigation process followed by the employer. Mr
Tiernan was dismissed in December 2021 after he was spotted smoking on CCTV on July 11, 2021.
Represented by Robin Hyde of Alastair Purdy & Co, the bakery said smoking outside designated areas was explicitly identified as serious misconduct which can warrant immediate dismissal in the firm’s disciplinary policy.
As part of his case, Mr Tiernan said that he had been living and caring for his mother, who is in her 80s, since the onset of Covid-19.
He claimed he had got permission by the site manager, Mr Glavin, to smoke in his van as he found the shed too crowded to be safe during the pandemic.
However, Mr Glavin denied this when interviewed by the company’s investigator.
Represented by SIPTU official, Mary Duffy King, Mr Tiernan claimed the bakery’s actions were disproportionate.
He said the firm failed to adhere to the spirit of its disciplinary policy which states it aims to correct staff who breach policy and get them compliant again.