A former employee of a women's refuge centre who alleged she had been bullied in the workplace withdrew the allegation prior to the resumption of an Employment Appeals Tribunal hearing yesterday in Galway..
Ms Yvonne Walsh, from Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, had brought an action for constructive dismissal against Mayo Women's Refuge Centre, Castlebar, and its founders, the St Vincent de Paul Society. She claimed her boss, Ms Josephine McGourty, had psychologically bullied her, and other staff at the refuge had turned against her. Ms Walsh told the tribunal on the first day of the hearing she had to take time off work in 1997 and 1998 due to stress-related illnesses, culminating in a suspected heart attack last summer.
When she returned to work last September, staff had not believed she had been so ill and she had been relieved of most of her former duties.
Staff at the centre and the society denied the allegations.
The tribunal heard that the St Vincent de Paul Society had presented Ms Walsh with £500 on top of her wages while she was on sick leave on one occasion and had given her other, smaller bonuses and the use of a holiday caravan on other occasions.
Ms Walsh accepted she had been treated well by the society. Before the tribunal resumed yesterday an agreed statement, drawn up by legal representatives from both sides, was issued in which Ms Walsh withdrew her allegation of bullying. Her employers accepted she was ill during her absences.