A DUBLIN hospital has been ordered to reinstate a member of its care staff who was sacked for slapping a 12-year-old intellectually-disabled boy three times.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal found that Stewart's Hospital in Palmerstown, Dublin acted "disproportionately" in sacking the man, who had been employed at the hospital since 1981.
The tribunal was told in hearings earlier this year that the staff member, John Taylor of Maynooth, Co Kildare, worked as a care worker but later qualified as a staff nurse.
The tribunal heard that on July 4th, 2006, he was working as a fourth-year student nurse in a bungalow at the hospital.
It heard that while feeding a client in the presence of two care staff he slapped the 12-year-old boy three times. The boy was in a wheelchair.
The two other staff members reported the incident to management which initiated a full investigation.
The hospital said that an independent report had found Mr Taylor guilty of gross misconduct.
The director of staffing at the hospital subsequently carried out a disciplinary hearing and decided to sack him. The chief executive of the hospital later upheld this decision in an appeal.
Mr Taylor had claimed that on the day of the incident he had been unwell and brought this to the attention of management.
He said that he very much regretted the incident and that no complaints or allegations had ever been made against him during his career at the hospital.
He said that the week in which the incident had taken place had been particularly difficult as one five-year-old child had been continually crying and that this had had knock-on effects.
The hospital said that the incident had been dealt with with the utmost seriousness and that the decision to dismiss Mr Taylor had not been taken lightly.
In its determination, the tribunal found Mr Taylor had worked for the hospital for more than 20 years and had shown himself to be caring and dependable.
It found that his conduct was not of such gravity as to constitute gross misconduct and that the sanction of dismissal was excessive in light of the circumstances existing.
The tribunal found that the hospital had acted in an inconsistent manner by offering Mr Taylor a new contract of employment while engaged in the disciplinary process that ultimately led to his dismissal.
Inclusion Ireland, the main representative group for people with disabilities, expressed concern yesterday at the incident.
"A child with severe or profound disabilities being hit is a very serious issue," said the group's chief executive Deirdre Carroll.
"This highlights the need for independent inspections of care facilities for people with disabilities. There are around 400 children with disabilities in residential care, yet they are not subject to any independent inspection and do not come under the Child Care Act."