The Circuit Court has awarded a former guesthouse manager €15,300 as a result of her successful unfair dismissal claim.
The Circuit Court was told that the woman was dismissed on the 14th February 2011 for allegedly concealing a €2,000 debt by a “non-paying guest”. It was alleged by the guesthouse owner that he had been unaware that long-term guest “Mr. B” had been running up a bill of €2,000 until the 12th February 2011.
The guesthouse owner told the court that “Mr. B” had told him he had entered into an arrangement with the dismissed woman when he made the booking a few months earlier. It was alleged that the dismissed woman had been the only employee dealing with “Mr. B” who made only a few payments during his 100 days stay in the guesthouse.
The court was told that when the guesthouse owner learned about the outstanding bill, he became furious and requested an explanation from the dismissed woman. When she refused to pay the outstanding bill of “Mr. B”, she was dismissed with two weeks wages in lieu of notice. The court was told that the Tribunal had held that the guesthouse had failed to follow proper procedures and found that the woman had been unfairly dismissed.
The Judge of the Circuit Court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and dismissed a claim of the guesthouse against the dismissed woman for €10,000 in damages for loss of business. The guesthouse owner had alleged that the dismissed woman changed computer codes which resulted in a loss of bookings but this was rejected by the Judge.