This case involved a claim of unfair dismissal. The Complainant had worked for the Company for 10 years and had a good employment record until a number of incidents in March 2015. He had been found to have carried out his work unsafely as a fork lift driver, which resulted in a final written warning being issued. This sanction was subsequently reduced to a written warning following an appeal to the WRC. While this sanction had been under appeal the Complainant was involved in a further infringement of the health and safety procedures of the Company. As a result, the Complainant was dismissed without notice for gross misconduct.
The Complainant appealed the decision on the basis that he did not deliberately breach the health and safety rules in place and was acting in the manner instructed, over many years, when dealing with such incidents. He also contended that other staff members involved in the incident had not been as severely disciplined, that no procedure was in place for dealing with such incidents and no appropriate training or operating procedures were in place to deal with such incidents. The Company claimed that the Complainant should have been aware that his conduct was not permitted and that the Complainant was well aware of the new strict adherence to safe practice in the warehouse.
The Court found that the Complainant had not deliberately contravened the Company's health and safety policy. Instead they held that the Company was under new management who were introducing a strict adherence to their health and safety policies. This process was at an early stage and had not reached widespread understanding or adoption in the warehouse. The Court found that the Complainant had responded to the incident in line with the established practice in the warehouse, spanning numerous years. The Court held that on the balance of probabilities the Company's reaction was premature, excessive and unfair. Accordingly, they ordered that the Complainant be re-engaged into his old position and supported with training in the new health and safety procedures.
http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2017/December/UDD1761.html
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