Two Dunnes Stores employees who were sacked after having a drink with their lunch one Christmas Eve have been awarded compensation by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
It said the company had acted disproportionately in dismissing the two workers from its store in Ballina, Co Mayo, following the incident on Christmas Eve 2001.
Mr Alan O'Hora, The Quay, Ballina, and Mr Simon Beattie, Rathkip, Ballina, were regarded as good workers and neither had been in trouble at work before.
Overturning an earlier Rights Commissioner decision, the tribunal found they were unfairly dismissed and awarded them €1,750 each.
The store's grocery manager had told the tribunal that the two admitted drinking alcohol during a Christmas Eve lunch break. He did not know how much they had consumed but the company had a zero tolerance policy towards alcohol. While they were good employees and he had "nothing against them", he had had no choice but to dismiss them.
Mr Beattie said that following the incident he attended a meeting with management at which he was told he had "let everyone down". Mr O'Hora said he also attended a meeting with management, which was "conducted like a lecture".
In a separate decision just published, the tribunal found that a Dublin company had no choice but to let four workers go when it became unable to obtain insurance against accidents in the workplace. Mr Michael Saul, Ballyfermot Crescent, Mr Paul Ray, Meath Street, Mr Eric Saul, Lucan and Mr Paul Byrne, also Lucan, had sued Mahony Manufactured Signs Ltd of Basin Street, for unfair dismissal.
The tribunal said they ought to have known that the employer was having difficulty obtaining insurance cover. He had had no choice but to act as he did.
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