Unfair dismissal case of alleged gross misconduct at Adare Manor resolved

A High Court action by a man who claimed he was wrongly dismissed from his job at the five-star Adare Manor hotel in Co Limerick has been resolved and withdrawn.

Ger Finnin, from Patrickswell, had sued Tizzard Holding's Unlimited, trading as Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort, purchased by businessman JP McManus in 2015, over the termination of his employment in early 2018 for alleged "gross misconduct".

He denied being guilty of any misconduct and claimed he was dismissed for making protected disclosures to his superiors about alleged regulatory breaches on the resort. He had sought damages and aggravated damages for alleged breach of contract. The company denied all of Mr Finnin’s claims he had been unfairly dismissed and said he was not entitled to any damages.

On Friday, Mr Justice Senan Allen was told by Anthony Kerr SC, for Mr Finnan, that peace had broken out between the parties. The dispute, which opened before the court on Tuesday, had been resolved and his client's case was being withdrawn, counsel added.

Mr Finnin was employed at the resort as its director of Engineering and Facilities and was paid €65,000 plus benefits per year. He was responsible for security, management of all maintenance on the estate, health and safety for all aspects of the resort, the estate’s IT infrastructures and environmental compliance.

The action arose over an allegation that, on Christmas Eve 2017, Mr Finnin was observed taking a box of beer and a box of cider from a storeroom at the resort.

The items were returned on December 27th.

A few days later, Mr Finnin was made the subject of an internal investigation and disciplinary process for allegedly removing the boxes from the store without permission.

Following an internal investigation and disciplinary hearing, conducted by senior staff at Adare Manor, Mr Finnin was dismissed after being found guilty of conduct that amounted to gross or serious misconduct. That decision was upheld on appeal.

He claimed those processes were fundamentally flawed, unfair and predetermined. He also claimed, following the dismissal, his health had suffered and he had a heart attack. His reputation has also suffered as a result of his dismissal, he alleged. The claims were denied.

The company said Mr Finnin was guilty of gross misconduct, it was lawfully entitled to terminate his employment and had provided him with a fair investigation and disciplinary process.

The defendant also denied Mr Finnin was being penalised for making the alleged protective disclosures.