A FORMER manager of a shop in Roscommon, who claimed she was subjected to “severe bullying and harassment” following the merger of two co-operatives, has been awarded €70,000 compensation by an Employment Appeals Tribunal.
The tribunal found that Eithne McDermott was unfairly dismissed by the Connacht Gold Co-op, Tubbercurry, Co Sligo.
Connacht Gold was formed in 2000 after the merger of two other co-operatives and Ms McDermott had been employed by the smaller co-op since 1974. From 1995 she was manager of the smaller co-op’s Castlerea store.
Soon after the merger, she attended an informal meeting in Castlerea with the divisional manager and the general manager of Connacht Gold, where she was asked if she intended to remain as manager of the Castlerea store.
In a determination issued yesterday, the tribunal said she felt pressure was being put on her to terminate her employment and this pressure continued.
“The claimant was targeted for a number of years. The profits in her store were good from 2001 to 2004 but started to fall off in 2006. Once the profits dropped the claimant was targeted.
“The claimant did have within her power the right to alter the conditions in the store so that she could be profitable. She was not given support from management to alter the situation in the company.” It said Ms McDermott was called to meetings and was given a number of warnings in relation to her performance.
She was in hospital in March 2007 with an illness described as stress-related and the tribunal said Connacht Gold started to “address” her issues when she became ill. She was offered a severance package but it was not acceptable to her. She was dismissed in July 2007 on the grounds that she refused to engage in meaningful discussions or mediation.
The tribunal found “she did not sufficiently contribute” to a mediation process which “might have resulted in an amicable solution”.