A warhouse manager, sacked after telling his boss he took damaged goods from the company, was unfairly dismissed, a judge said yesterday.
Judge Alison Lindsay awarded Mr John Longmore €60,000 compensation against his former employers, Uniphar Ltd, a pharmaceutical distributor, of Belgard Road, Dublin.
She said others who had been involved in taking damaged stock were still employed by the company.
Judge Lindsay had heard how Mr Longmore, of The Pines, Woodley Park, Kilmacud, Dublin, became the centre of an investigation after his chief executive's expensive wine stock disappeared from the company's dangerous drugs strongroom.
Mr Gerry Griffin, former CEO and now company chairman, had told the Circuit Civil Court how he and other bosses vetted security video tapes and had identified Mr Longmore carrying three boxes from the strongroom to his car.
When questioned about the tapes Mr Longmore had openly admitted having taken damaged product, such as toilet rolls and shampoo, from the warehouse but said it had been a practice for years for employees to do so.
He had denied having taken any of the chief executive's wine stock, which, Mr Griffin had told the court, was used as Christmas presents or to entertain customers of the company.
Mr Griffin told the court pilferage of product had been a problem for the company and a special security system had to be set up to protect Viagra, the male potency pill, after it had been taken from the dangerous drugs strongroom.
Mr Longmore said he had been one of only three key-holders to the strongroom but that the steel doors' locks had been damaged for a number of weeks, despite his having reported it to management. Anyone could have taken the wine.
Mr Griffin rejected a suggestion by Mr John McGuigan, counsel for Mr Longmore, that his client had been dismissed on the strength of his admissions simply because the company had been unable to pin the wine theft on him.
Judge Lindsay awarded Mr Longmore €60,121, the equivalent of two years' salary and eight weeks' minimum notice payments.
Mr Longmore had been awarded just under €9,000 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal for unfair dismissal but appealed to the Circuit Court for increased compensation on the grounds the tribunal had wrongly held him to have made a considerable contribution to his dismissal.
Judge Lindsay said she was satisfied from Mr Longmore's admissions that he had taken damaged stock from the warehouse but said there was no evidence of him having contributed towards his dismissal.
She had heard evidence from another employee that he had taken damaged stock and he was still employed with the company. Judge Lindsay said she had been satisfied there had not been proper investigations.