A FORMER chef at a Dublin cafe who claimed a false rumour had been spread that he was fed up with his job and was leaving has been awarded more than €43,000 by an Employment Appeals Tribunal.
The tribunal found that John Harte of Airfield Avenue, Dublin, was unfairly dismissed by the Crown Alley General Trading Company of Lower Baggot Street, Dublin.
Mr Harte said he had joined the company in 1990 and it was taken over in May 2008.
He reported to another chef, and in September 2008 he told him he was in pain with a knee injury and might not be in the following day.
The other chef asked him why he did not just leave the job and he said he couldn’t as he needed the money.
In a determination issued yesterday, the tribunal said that when Mr Harte did turn up for work on the following day and went to get changed, he heard a shout coming from the bottom of the stairs.
“The owner of the premises began swearing at him, asking him where did he think he was going as he had left the job and told no one. He was told he had taken his name off the roster and to ‘f**k off out of there’,” the tribunal said.
“He was then accosted by the manager and the general manager. He was very upset and unsettled.”
His brother, who had been employed on the premises for 18 years and had worked up to the position of head chef, contacted him and told him his name had been taken off the roster and he was sacked.
Giving evidence, his brother said the general manager had told him the owner wanted him sacked. No warnings were given to Mr Harte.
No independent evidence was brought by the company.
A portion of evidence given by the company’s financial director was hearsay evidence and while the tribunal accepted the evidence, it said it must “attach the appropriate weight to it”.
In finding the dismissal was unfair, the tribunal said Mr Harte’s evidence was corroborated by his brother.
The tribunal awarded Mr Harte €40,000 for unfair dismissal and a €3,200 payment for minimum notice.