Disciplinary Procedure Pitfalls

Employers should be wary of leaving themselves open to claims of failure to fairly and consistently apply their own disciplinary procedures.

We review a recent decision of the Workplace Relations Commission awarding an employee €12,000 in compensation for an unreasonable dismissal after cash went missing. The reaction of the Employer dismissing the Employee was deemed not within the "band of reasonable responses".

Background

In this case ¹ the Employee was dismissed from her employment as a store checkout manager following the disappearance of €640.One of the Employee's normal duties was the collection and return of cash float bags from the shop-floor to the cash office. It was part of the Employer's procedures that employees must be accompanied by security personnel when carrying out this task.  On the evening of 1 January 2016, security staff offered to accompany the Employee to the cash office but she declined assistance. The following morning it