A former editor of the Cork Evening Echo, Mr Edwin Lyons, has been awarded over £55,000 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal for wrongful dismissal. The award was made against Examiner Publications (Cork) Ltd, which owns the Echo.
Mr Lyons, of Curraheen Road, Bishopstown, Cork, took the case after being dismissed in October 1996. The company alleged that he had developed a serious gambling problem and failed to respond adequately to training programmes or account for holidays taken or meet targets set for him.
The tribunal found that the company had failed to prove its case. It said Mr Lyons's former gambling problem was not the reason for his dismissal. It found that his failure to account for all holidays taken would not justify dismissal.
The inadequacy of the assistance given to him during his training programme was a contributory factor in his failure to achieve targets, it added. The tribunal accepted that failure to achieve the targets was a serious shortcoming for someone in a senior management position and consequently reduced the compensation awarded by one-third.
The tribunal said that in the light of restructuring in the company since his departure, it did not regard Mr Lyons's reinstatement as an option. Instead it awarded him £52,000 under the Unfair Dismissals Acts and a further £3,088 under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts.