A FORMER employee of a Bank of Ireland subsidiary has alleged hundreds of staff at the company circulated e-mails containing images senior managers described as highly offensive.
Sarah Murray told the Employment Appeals Tribunal there was a culture of sending such e-mails when she joined ICS Building Society and team leaders and supervisors were among those engaging in the practice.
Ms Murray (26), Glasthule, Co Dublin, and Sarah Rooney (26), Ballybrack, Co Dublin, claim they were unfairly dismissed by ICS in 2009 following an investigation into the content of e-mails sent by 37 staff, five of whom were fired and five given warnings.
They argued that the images found in their inboxes were to be regarded as “humorous” and that the company failed to make its e-mail usage policy clear.
Tom Mallon, counsel for Bank of Ireland, said the claimants circulated “highly offensive” images within and outside the company and were guilty of “multiple breaches” of its code of conduct.
Ms Murray told the tribunal 90 per cent of staff on her floor sent similar e-mails and she did not believe it was a problem as nobody had ever complained about their content.
If the investigation into who was sending them had been done “properly” it would have found “hundreds” of names, she said.
Ms Rooney said colleagues asked for her e-mail address shortly after she joined the company in 2005 so she could be added to the group that received the e-mails, adding almost “everybody” engaged in the practice.
“It was just the nature,” she said. “They came in on a daily basis.” She said the building society would not have had “any staff left” had the matter been investigated properly and she had “no doubt” people higher up the chain of command were involved.
Ms Rooney, whom colleagues voted employee of the quarter shortly before her dismissal, did not believe sending the e-mails could lead to dismissal. She said arguably the best job of her career had “slipped through my fingers”.
She told the tribunal it was difficult to understand why she had lost her job when colleagues engaging in similar conduct had just been warned.
Mr Mallon put it to Ms Rooney that the images she circulated were “disturbing” and contained inappropriate images of children.
Ms Rooney said that, having matured since leaving the company, she could now see her behaviour was wrong. However, she said that while some were inappropriate she did not find them particularly disturbing.
Ms Murray alleged the former head of her department, Pauline Keogh, failed to listen to her defence at a disciplinary meeting which followed the investigation and did not appear to care that many others had been involved in the practice.
She said she was devastated when Ms Keogh told her the company was considering reporting the nature of the material found in her inbox to the Garda. “I think she was trying to frighten me,” she said.
In his closing submission, counsel for the two women Kevin D’Arcy said his clients had become part of a culture that existed in the building society before their appointment and the company had failed to enact its disciplinary policies fairly or consistently in their cases.
He said the investigation was “flawed” as the parameters were not clearly set and it did not comply with company guidelines. The sanctions taken against the claimants were “disproportionate”, he said.
Mr Mallon said there was “undisputed evidence” against the claimants and it was inconceivable that adults, regardless of age, would find the material they circulated acceptable.
The tribunal will issue its decision in due course.
