An action instituted by a former crime correspondent with the Sunday Independent against Independent Newspapers was adjourned at an Employment Appeals Tribunal in Dublin yesterday. Ms Liz Allen is claiming she was constructively dismissed by the newspaper, which appointed her crime correspondent following the murder of Ms Veronica Guerin in 1996.
The action taken under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 1993 was about to proceed when counsel for Independent Newspapers, Mr Mark Connaughton, sought the adjournment. Mr Connaughton said the case would run for several days.
He said tribunal panels were due to be reviewed at the end of January, as occurs every three years, and there was no point in the case commencing if the panel hearing it did not have dates available to hear it in full before then.
The tribunal chairwoman, Ms Moya Quinlan, adjourned the case and asked lawyers for both parties to liaise with the tribunal office to fix a date for the hearing after the beginning of February.