The Appellant was employed by the Respondent as Café Restaurant Manager for Dunnes Stores. On three separate occasions the Appellant selected goods from the Respondent’s restaurant and consumed them without payment. In total, the Appellant had consumed goods without payment worth €29.00.

The Respondent carried out an investigation of the incidents and subsequently conducted a disciplinary procedure. Ultimately, the Appellant was dismissed by way of letter dated the 13th of July 2017. She appealed this decision on the basis that she was unaware of the reasons for her dismissal, but the dismissal was upheld.

The Respondent submitted that the incidents in question were reported to management by various members of staff. The Respondent then conducted a series of meetings of investigation with the Appellant. The Appellant had explained that she had forgotten to pay for the goods and that there were queues at the checkouts at the time.

The Respondent submitted that there were substantial grounds justifying the termination of the Appellant’s employment and that it had acted reasonably and fairly in effecting the dismissal. The Respondent argued that the sanction of dismissal was not outside the band of reasonable responses by the Respondent to the Appellant’s conduct.

The Court noted that the Respondent set out clearly the detailed basis for the decision to dismiss the Appellant by way of letter which was furnished to the Appellant in July 2017. The Court was also satisfied that the Appellant was afforded the right to representation at all stages of the investigation and disciplinary procedure. In all the circumstances, the Court found that the Respondent had substantial grounds to justify the dismissal of the Appellant. The  Appellant’s appeal failed, and the decision of the Adjudication Officer was affirmed.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2020/june/udd2021.html