This article is from page 10 of the 2007-04-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
A CLARE accountant who was un- fairly dismissed from a Limerick firm has been awarded a total of more than €18,000 in compensation.
Gerard White, from Woodbrook Lodge, Fountain, Ennis, took a case with the Employment Appeals Tri- bunal against the firm he had worked for for almost 33 years.
O’Hurley Blair Irwin, of Mount Kenneth House, Henry Street, Lim- erick, denied they had unfairly dis- missed White, citing gross miscon-
duct and breach of trust as the reasons for him losing his job.
The tribunal was told that in April 2005, the company received a call from a bank in connection with sub- stantiating a loan application. No- one in the company knew anything about the loan applicant and he was not a client of the firm. White told the partner in the firm who had dealt with the call that the person named was a friend of his.
The partner asked that copies of documents relating to the named per- son be sent to him and it transpired
that the bank had received accounts for three years relating to the person as well as a letter for the tax affairs of the person, which indicated that the company was representing him and that his affairs were in order.
The firm suspended the claimant with pay and, subsequently, White told them it had been his intention to intro- duce the person to the firm as a client. White told the tribunal that he had met with the business person, who was a friend, in January 2005. He called to White’s home with the papers neces- sary to apply for a bank loan. White
said he did not submit accounts.
White said the home visit was not unusual as he often brought work home. He had put a note in his diary as a reminder to set up an account with the firm for the man.
The tribunal determined that there was an unresolved conflict of evi- dence but the dismissal was unfair because of deficiencies in procedure on the part of the accountancy firm.
Under a claim for minimum notice, White was awarded €5,692.32 and he was awarded €12,500 in compensa- tion under the Unfair Dismissals act.