Airport cleaner suspected of being a ‘drunk and a thief’

A woman who worked for 15 years cleaning and stocking bars in Aer Lingus lounges at Dublin Airport, has said she was unfairly dismissed amid suspicion she was a drunk and a thief, the Employment Appeals Tribunal has heard.

Kristina Malinovska (40) told the tribunal she was unfairly dismissed after a plastic bottle containing alcohol was found in her bag during a late shift in January 2015.

Ms Malinovska said had been happy working in the Gold Circle and other Aer Lingus lounges at the airport. She said she worked for the airline although her wages were paid by OCS One Complete Solution Ltd trading as Outsourced Client Solutions.

Ms Malinovska asked the tribunal to declare that as Aer Lingus was an end user of her services over many years, and she took instruction from Aer Lingus personnel, the airline was effectively her employer. She also claimed unfair dismissal by Aer Lingus as well as by OCS One Complete Solutions.

The airline was not represented at the hearing on Wednesday.

In evidence Ms Malinovska said she had been working a shift from lunchtime to 9.30pm in an Aer Lingus Gold Circle lounge when towards the end of her shift a supervisor inspected her bag and found a 250ml plastic bottle containing alcohol.

She said she had brought the alcohol with her as she was planning to meet a friend later, and she was worried that by the time her shift finished it would be too late to buy alcohol.

Upset

Ms Malinovska became upset as she told the tribunal that the morning after she was suspended her friends and colleagues had telephoned her to ask what had happened. She said after suspicions of drinking on duty or stealing the alcohol were not sustained in questioning by her superiors, she was offered work cleaning toilets in another location at the airport.

Her solicitor, Eamonn O’Hanrahan of EM O’Hanrahan Solicitors, told the tribunal Ms Malinovska had been investigated for “being a drunk and a thief” and when these were not supported she was not allowed to return to the Gold Circle lounge where she previously worked.

Michael Leavy, a former operations manager with One Complete Solution, said he had offered Ms Malinovska alternative work at food halls in the airport but this had been declined.

He said she could not go back to working in the Aer Lingus lounges as these were fully staffed. Asked by the tribunal if it was a coincidence that when the Aer Lingus lounges were overstaffed, Ms Malinovska had been the one asked to leave, he said it was a coincidence.

In a preliminary ruling the tribunal determined that Ms Malinovska was employed by OCS One Complete Solution. It said it would give its determination on the allegation of unfair dismissal in due course.