A healthcare worker who liked and shared a video of an offensive song about murdered Co Tyrone woman Michaela McAreavey has had a claim that she was unfairly sacked from her job dismissed.
An industrial tribunal panel described the streaming of the video in an Orange Hall last year as a “truly disgraceful event” and ruled that the Southern Health and Social Care Trust was entitled to dismiss Rhonda Shiels from her employment.
There was widespread condemnation after the footage which was livestreamed from Dundonald Orange Hall in May of last year and showed a number of men singing a song appearing to mock the daughter of the former Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte, who was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius in 2011.
Ms Shiels had been employed by the Southern Trust as a healthcare assistant for five years.
The footage had been livestreamed by Andrew McDade, who is Ms Shiels’ partner. The industrial tribunal was told that Ms Shiels had liked and shared the video on her Facebook account.
In her evidence to the tribunal, Ms Shiels stated that she had not watched all of the video and had switched if off before the point when the offensive singing took place. She said she had not become aware of the offensive singing until days later.
Behaved recklessly
The trust had, however, concluded that she behaved recklessly in liking and sharing the video without satisfying herself as to its content. She was dismissed from her job last July and her appeal against that decision was dismissed by the trust a month later.
Ms Shiels then brought a claim of unfair dismissal to an industrial tribunal but stated she was not seeking re-instatement.
The written judgment said the background to the claim was “the singing of a sectarian and misogynistic song in Dundonald Orange Hall”.
Not stopped
“The singing of that song by a large group of people was not prevented or stopped by others present; it was in fact applauded,” it said. “This had been a truly disgraceful event.”
The judgment concluded: “The decision by the respondent (Southern Trust) to uphold the charges of gross misconduct and to impose a penalty of summary dismissal was, in the opinion of the tribunal, a decision which a reasonable employer could properly have reached in all the circumstances of this case.”
Mr McDade lost an industrial tribunal case against his sacking from his job as a lorry driver earlier this month.
Jamie Bryson, who represented Ms Shiels during the hearing, said his client was disappointed by the ruling and would consider all appeal options.
“Ms Shiels apologised again to the Harte and McAreavey family during the tribunal, and repeats the apology for any hurt unintentionally caused by her actions, which were held to be reckless, but not intentional, in liking and sharing a video without satisfying herself as to the content,” he said. - PA