Keywords: Unfair Dismissal; Breach of Fair Procedures

The Complainant had been a member of the Respondent Sports Club for fifty years. During this time he served as Treasurer from 1995 up to November 2017. He was suspended on November 30th pending an investigation into payments that were being made into an employees’ pension fund.

The Complainant then sought a postponement of the investigation and the Respondent requested various log in details to be provided to enable the continuous management of its affairs. The Complainant informed the Respondent that some of the details were personal to him and did not provide them. He was then sent a text message on January 8th, 2019 requesting him to attend a meeting with the executive committee of the club. He was given no indication of the purpose of the meeting and was genuinely unable to attend. The Complainant was subsequently dismissed.

The Complainant contended that he had provided the necessary access details to the Respondent. However, some of the information sought was personal to him and related to his own status as a user and he was unwilling to share it with a third party.

The Adjudication Officer noted that there was a clear breach of fair procedures. The Respondent did not make any attempt to reschedule the meeting for the Complainant, nor did the Respondent provide any explanation of the purpose of the meeting. Accordingly, the Respondent was ordered to pay compensation to the Complainant amounting to €4,404.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2019/june/adj-00019195.html