McDonald’s manager dismissed after €1,700 lost from safe

A McDonald’s manager was dismissed after €1,700 went missing from a safe she left unlocked and unattended, a tribunal has heard.

Diana Jelisejeva took an unfair dismissal case after she was sacked from her job at the Swords branch of the fast-food chain, where she had worked between December 2011 and March 2014.

Legal representatives for McDonald's operator Natline Ltd accused Ms Jelisejeva of a "serious breach" of company cash handling procedures after she left a security van driver alone in a room with an unlocked safe and no CCTV on two occasions in February 2014.

It was subsequently discovered that three envelopes each containing a sum of money were unaccounted for. She accepted that adequate procedures were not observed on both occasions and that money had gone missing. She was dismissed in March after an internal investigation.

The case was referred to gardaí and the investigation is ongoing.

Natline Ltd invited a third-party arbiter to oversee an external appeals process regarding the employment dispute. However, a sitting of the Employment Appeals Tribunal on Wednesday heard this was suspended because gardaí recommended against disclosing relevant files and video footage until the official investigation is concluded.

Addressing the tribunal, Ms Jelisejeva's legal representative John Hennessy said he was denied access to disciplinary notes concerning his client, and that the appeals process was "suspended unfairly" for "spurious reasons" as gardaí conducted their inquiries.

He added that the Garda investigation has caused an “almost reprehensible” delay to the process which, he said, continues to affect Ms Jelisejeva’s access to justice.

After hearing representations from both sides, tribunal chair Veronica Gates concluded it would be "difficult if not impossible" to conclude anything without access to all relevant files and video tapes, and adjourned the case until January 12th next.