A security officer was fired for watching YouTube while a gang broke into a car park and damaged a car, a tribunal was told.
Felix Adeagbo was also looking at other internet sites and failed to notice the break-in at the car park at 1am on October 25th, 2012.
The incident went unnoticed, even though it lasted nine minutes and the culprits could be seen on CCTV attempting to open the car door, the Employment Appeals Tribunal heard.
Mr Adeagbo was subsequently dismissed and took his case to a Rights Commissioner who upheld his dismissal.
He then appealed this decision to the Employment Appeals Tribunal and that appeal was heard earlier this year.
The EAT report of its findings was published yesterday (THURS).
His employers, Mitie Facilities Management Limited - a Dublin-based property management company - told the tribunal that he was dismissed because he had spent time on the internet while he should have been undertaking his duties and he had also falsified documents.
At the time he was looking at YouTube and other sites, and he had completed a document which indicated that all checks were done, but this was not the case, the company’s HR manager said.
The manager said Mr Adeagbo was responsible for looking after a site which included a car park, shops, apartments and private tenants and it was a very important role. Looking at websites on the company computer was forbidden and he did not dispute that he had been on YouTube.
He had signed a policy regarding the use of IT equipment and some of the clients the company worked with had very confidential information.
The manager stressed that Mr Adeagbo had received full training and was aware of what constituted gross misconduct.
It was not the case that Mr Adeagbo was tired as he had been looking at a variety of sites on the internet.
The company recognised the fact that he had twelve years’ service but he had not carried out a patrol of the car park and regarded his actions as a serious breach of trust and procedures.
Mr Adeagbo did not give evidence at the hearing due to ill-health, but his union representative outlined to the tribunal the efforts he had made to mitigate his loss.
Upholding the determination of the Rights Commissioner in the case, the tribunal found the admitted acts of the security officer were gross misconduct which justified his dismissal. It ruled that the decision to dismiss him was fair and reasonable.