The former host of Galway Bay FM’s breakfast show, who was sacked last year over what was termed a “verbal assault” on the radio station’s chief executive, has lost a claim for unfair dismissal at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
Veteran broadcaster Neil Molloy, who earned €52,240 as a presenter working on the long-standing ‘Mollie in the Morning’ show, was taken off air by the radio station last summer having been suspended at the start of June for an investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct. He was dismissed in September.
His trade union called it a “witch hunt”.
In a decision published on Wednesday, the employment tribunal rejected statutory complaints against Western Community Broadcasting Services Ltd, trading as Galway Bay FM, challenging the dismissal. The ruling is now under appeal to the Labour Court.
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Ibec official Declan Thomas, representing the radio station, submitted that Mr Molloy had subjected both the chief executive, Cormac O’Halloran, and the station’s programme director, John Divilly, to a “verbal assault” on June 1st, 2023.
Mr Thomas submitted that the complainant went to Mr O’Halloran a week later on June 8th, admitted his behaviour was “inappropriate” and sought to apologise.
The WRC heard that the initial incident happened after the chief executive took away Mr Molloy’s company fuel card, and expressed reservations when Mr Molloy asked whether he was allowed to take up outside work.
Mr O’Halloran then told the complainant he had made a complaint to the company’s board, he said. In response, Mr Molloy “again began raising his voice and again insulted the CEO with disparaging remarks”, it was submitted.
At that point, the chief executive told the complainant that because of his “wholly disrespectful, intimidatory, insubordinate and verbally abusive behaviour”, he was being suspended pending investigation, Mr Thomas said.
The complaint against Mr Molloy was upheld by a third-party investigator and he was summarily dismissed following a disciplinary hearing in late August, a sanction upheld on appeal, the tribunal was told.
Siptu official Marie O’Connor submitted that Mr O’Halloran “treated [him] in a very disrespectful manner from the outset of the meeting when he took over as CEO”.
“It is abundantly clear that this is a witch hunt by the CEO. If there were issues with the previous CEO giving the complainant the use of a fuel card, then this should have been dealt with in a proper manner,” she submitted.
She contended the decision had been taken to dismiss her client prior to the completion of the investigation report on August 11th that year.
The only aspects of the investigation report that the union disputed were “any contention that the complainant was verbally or physically threatening in any way towards the CEO”.
That was because Mr Molloy had learned on July 5th that there were ads running on social media promoting the ‘Mollie in the Morning’ show which featured only his co-presenter, it was submitted. Mr Molloy was put back in the ads after his union wrote to the station, the tribunal was told.
Mr Molloy felt he was “removed on purpose to give the impression that he was no longer an employee of Galway Bay FM”.
Ms O’Connor submitted that her client had worked for Galway Bay FM for 30 years, on and off, and had an “unblemished record [and] an excellent reputation” which were not taken into account when the company moved to dismiss him.
The assigned disciplinary officer, company secretary Conor Costello, accepted Mr Molloy’s conduct was “out of character” and said he took this into consideration.
Peter Allen, the company chairman to whom Mr Molloy brought his appeal, said there had been a “breach of trust” – and that since Mr Molloy had “lost his temper again on the day he went to give the apology”, his view was that it was “not a once-off incident”.
Adjudicator Janet Hughes wrote that she was conscious Mr O’Halloran had an “overwhelming involvement” in internal processes ultimately leading to the presenter’s dismissal. She remarked that “a reasonable person not otherwise involved in this matter might conclude [that] Mr Molloy didn’t stand a chance”.
However, she said the main consideration in a decision to dismiss a worker had to be the “substance” of the matter.
“I consider the words of the decision-maker, where he spoke of not being able to see how [the CEO and Mr Molloy] could restore their working relationship as most credible and significant, not least because the evidence had a ring of conviction and honesty,”, Ms Hughes wrote.
She considered it “understandable” that Mr Molloy “lost his temper” during the first row on June 1st. She wrote that he was an employee of long standing who was “trying to deal with the consequences of a cutback”. She considered it a “once-off incident” which was “out of character” and involved no violence. In the circumstances, it “might not have justified a dismissal”, she wrote.
However, the second incident on June 8th, when Mr Molloy “reacted with anger” when told there was a complaint against him “undermined his own apology, such as it was, effectively sealing his own fate”.
“On the substance of the case therefore, I find the decision to dismiss was not unfair,” she wrote – but did add that the finding of gross misconduct against him was “excessive”.
She ruled the two statutory claims brought by Mr Molloy under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 “not well founded”, dismissing the case.
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