Van driver who failed to turn up for work on ‘fed-up days’ wins unfair dismissal claim

A Dublin-based van driver who failed to show up for work for eight working days and who was subsequently dismissed by his employer has been awarded €2,879 in unpaid wages including an award for unfair dismissal.

Fed up days

The van driver gave evidence to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) outlining that he missed a number of days’ work which he referred to as his ‘fed up days’. The employee confirmed that he was absent from work in May 2017 and that when he returned to work he was advised by his employer that there was no longer any work for him. The man also alleged that the employer had withheld his wages.

No disciplinary procedure

The employee claimed that he was unfairly dismissed as no disciplinary process was entered into and no disciplinary warnings were recorded on his employee file.

Post dismissal evidence

The employer noted that it took the decision to withhold the complainant’s wages after it emerged that twelve TV’s which were in the driver’s possession had gone missing and that the customer who owned the TV’s was seeking compensation of €2400. The employer alleged that a raid on the man’s home by an Garda Síochána had uncovered the twelve missing TV’s. In addition, the company alleged that CCTV footage showed the van driver and his son loading seventy-two TV’s into the driver’s van but only offloading sixty at the customer’s premises. The employer only became aware of the alleged theft of the TV’s after the van driver’s dismissal which it argued justified summary dismissal for gross misconduct.

The WRC’s determination

The WRC agreed that the employee had contributed to his own dismissal by withholding information from his employer in relation to his return to work. The employee’s action (or non-actoin) required the employer to make alternative arrangements to cover the man’s absence and previous instances of unauthorised absence.

Employer failure to follow fair procedures

The WRC ruled that irrespective of the van driver’s actions or degree of his alleged wrongdoing, “the employer must follow fair procedures” and that the employee in this instance, “was deprived of any process conforming to the requirements of natural justice…..there was no advance notice that dismissal was being contemplated, no process, no right of representation offered and no appeal procedure provided”.

The employer’s decision to withhold the employee’s wages in this instance was also unlawful and the WRC ordered the company to pay the driver his unpaid wages.

The WRC also noted that the allegations relating to the disappearance of the TV’s was a matter for an Garda Síochána to investigate.

Key learnings

Employers should follow their own policies and procedures in a fair and reasonable manner.

The principles of natural justice must always be upheld. Even if employees have breached expected standards, they are entitled to benefit from fair procedures, in other words to be informed of the charge or complaint against them, to be given an opportunity to respond to the charges and to have their response duly considered by an impartial, unbiased and independent party.

It is crucial that disciplinary processes comply with fair procedures. Please call our advice line on +353 1 886 0350 to discuss the above or any other HR issues.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Latest Resources

Employer’s guide to lay-off in Ireland

lay-off in Ireland
It’s common for businesses facing a downturn in trade to let employees go on a temporary basis. As an employer, you may also need to […]

Long-term sickness absence: When to conduct an informal welfare meeting

Everyone gets sick, so short-term sickness absence is something all employers will have to deal with from time to time and tends to cause minimal […]

Notice periods: an employer’s guide

Notice periods: an employer’s guide
Notice Period: Within a business, it’s constantly necessary to re-evaluate and adjust workforce planning. Whether this is due to employees looking for different career paths […]

Olga Shevchenko

Director/Advocate, Immigration Advice Bureau

Olga Shevchenko specialises in immigration advocacy and consultancy, in particular, employment permit, visas, family reunification, citizenship, etc, for those seeking to visit, reside or invest in Ireland.

Olga provides extensive information, knowledge, and support to her clients, enabling access to positive solutions for people struggling to handle the immigration law.

Minister Neale Richmond

Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Neale Richmond TD was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Employment Affairs and Retail Business and the Department of Social Protection in January 2023.

Much of his work at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is with businesses, workers, their representative bodies and the State Agencies to ensure that the economic recovery and growth extends to all parts of the country. He works closely with the SME sector, including retail, on building resilience and on the transition to the green and digital economies.

Mark Carpenter

Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Sky

Mark Carpenter is Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs at Sky Ireland. In this role he has responsibility for External and Internal Communications, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs and the company’s ‘Bigger Picture’ (CSR) programme. He also works closely with Sky Group teams on a variety of matters, in particular our partnerships with domestic broadcasters.

Prior to working at Sky, Mark worked as a Policy Officer in Houses of the Oireachtas and as a Management Consultant at Accenture. He has a BA in History from Oxford University and a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Nora Cashe

Litigation and Compliance Manager, Peninsula

Nóra studied Law in Griffith College Dublin and qualified as a Barrister in 2008, practising in the area of Criminal law. She is also member of the Irish Employment Law Association.

Nora has extensive experience representing clients at Employment Tribunal hearings, Conciliation / Mediation meetings before both the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. 

Nóra is a member of the Irish Employment Law Association and engages with the WRC Adjudication Service as part of their stakeholder engagement forum.

Deiric McCann

Managing Director, Genos International Europe

Deiric McCann leads Genos International Europe – The EU division of a world-leading provider of emotional intelligence solutions. 

With over two decades experience at the highest levels of management, Deiric supports clients to develop the resilience, emotional intelligence, psychological safety and engagements of their employees.

Rhiannon Coyne

Senior HR Consultant, Graphite HRM

Rhiannon Coyne is a Senior HR Consultant at Graphite HRM and will be providing an overview of best practice on how to deal with complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace. 

With a number of recent updates to employment laws, Rhiannon will take a closer look at employment equality and how it is interlinked to Health & Safety and what employers can learn from recent case laws.

David Begg

Chairman, Workplace Relations Commission

David Begg was appointed Chairperson of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in January 2021.

David is also a professor at Maynooth University Institute of Social Sciences. Mr Begg’s extensive history in the trade union movement included leading the ESB Officers Association and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, stepping away from the latter in 2001 to chair international aid agency Concern.

David Begg was also previously a director of the Central Bank of Ireland between 1995 and 2010.