SARAH LYNN McKenna, a former pizza restaurant manager, who was “embarrassed and humiliated” by her employer, has been awarded €63,000 compensation for unfair dismissal at the Dublin Circuit Court.
Judge Doirbhile Flanagan said Ms Mc Kenna had no option but to resign after Pizza Express Restaurants refused to reschedule disciplinary hearings when she was having a very difficult pregnancy.
Accepting that Ms McKenna (35), Celbridge, Co Kildare, had been constructively dismissed, the judge said her employer’s conduct had been inappropriate and disproportionate and had embarrassed and humiliated her.
Judge Flanagan said she accepted Ms McKenna’s evidence of having been locked in a room with her senior operations manager, Mark Goode, who was investigating what he had described as unacceptable work practice, and said it had been inappropriate.
Ms McKenna said she had felt like a criminal as she walked past staff and customers in Milano’s, Temple Bar, Dublin, to pick up her things when she was suspended.
She said she had been interrogated about a customer’s bill but there had been no question of fraud involved or suggested by Pizza Express Restaurants Ltd, Milano’s English parent company.