This case involved a claim that a management led investigation was unfair.

The respondent company claimed that its formal investigation was necessary due to the fact a number of serious allegations, involving racist and culture-based comments, were made against the complainant by a fellow employee. Following the investigation the complainant was found to have behaved inappropriately and given a final written warning.

The complainant did not deny that he had made the majority of these comments but claimed they were said in banter. The company denied that fair procedures were not applied and stated that after the complainant had raised a number of points, which he felt required further investigation, they re-interviewed a number of witnesses. Also, the company had offered to have an independent external expert review the case, instead of attending a hearing before an Adjudication Officer, but the complainant refused to avail of this offer.

The Court agreed that once a complaint of the nature alleged was made the company must carry out an investigation to ensure that such behaviour is not repeated. The Court stressed that the defence offered, being that the comments were made in banter, was not acceptable. They found that the company had a duty of care to ensure dignity at work for all employees and found that the company had fulfilled this duty by conducting the investigation. Accordingly, the Court supported the company's actions and did not find that the process lacked procedural fairness.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2017/August/LCR21545.html