Creche worker fired over ‘conflict’ with mother awarded €22,000

A creche worker who was sacked for coming into “conflict” with a mother who thought her husband was having an affair has been awarded €22,224 by a tribunal.

Helena Harrington had been working for Mayo-based Charlestown Community Childcare Limited, trading as Happy Feet Creche and Preschool, in July 2012 when she became embroiled in the alleged conflict with the mother of two children she was minding.

An Employment Appeals Tribunal heard that in January 2011, the client in question had alerted management at the creche to the fact that Ms Harrington, who looked after the children at their family home, had been receiving "an excessive amount of text messages" from the client's husband.

It was added that Ms Harrington admitted to receiving 1,500 text messages from the children’s father during working hours.

Representatives of the creche said that by this stage, the client had “gotten it into her head” that her husband was cheating on her with the childcare worker.

Ms Harrington was later asked to apologise to the children’s mother and to “consider her position” with the company, while the children’s father chose to relinquish his position on the creche’s board of management following a request from the manager.

In addition, Ms Harrington was told her actions breached the trust of the children’s mother, and caused damage to the reputation of the childcare company “in a small community”.

‘Words were exchanged’

On July 30th, 2012, management at the creche was alerted to an alleged incident in which “words were exchanged” between Ms Harrington and the children’s mother. The claimant denied any physical altercation had taken place.

As a result of this, the childcare worker was summoned to a meeting with management during her week off and was summarily dismissed.

Giving evidence to the tribunal, Ms Harrington said questions raised in relation to the reason for her dismissal were met the response “you know why”.

Management at the creche admitted the decision to sack her had already been made prior to a specially convened meeting during which Ms Harrington was asked to give her side of the story.

She was then told her P45 and any holidays due would be sent in the post, before being escorted to collect her belongings and ordered off the premises.

Ms Harrington added she has looked after the children since July 2012 and she “maintains a good relationship” with their mother.

She was not made aware of any specific allegations made against her until two months after she was let go by the company.

In the tribunal’s ruling, Charlestown Community Childcare Limited was found to have acted in a “wholly unfair” manner “both procedurally and substantially” in dismissing the claimant, and was ordered to pay its former employee €22,224.