A caretaker in a Co Kildare school has been awarded more than €40,000 in compensation for wrongful dismissal, arising out of allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards girls in the school.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal, sitting in Portlaoise earlier this year, found that the board of management had not acted fairly towards the claimant and did not give him a real opportunity to defend himself against the accusations.
The girls did not give evidence, and statements based on their allegations and written down by a teacher were not shown to the man before he was dismissed.
The principal told the tribunal that two teachers had come to her with concerns about the caretaker. These included the teacher who had taken the statements. She agreed that these statements were not presented to the man before the tribunal hearing.
The principal also told the tribunal that she was party to the decision to dismiss the man, and that her primary concern was the safety of the children.
In his evidence the claimant said that he noticed a runner in the Halla Mor and put it in a press, which was not locked. When asked by two children about it later where he took his lunch, he was initially unclear as to where it had been mislaid.
In relation to going into the hall while a class was in progress, he said that he had been asked by the principal to collect a computer from one classroom and bring it to another. This required walking up the side of the hall, and he was not aware a class was in progress.
The tribunal said the case was very sensitive and required balancing the school's duty of care to the students against the rights of the claimant.
While understanding why the board of management did not hear evidence from the children directly, it said that this, combined with the claimant not seeing the written statements, put him and his solicitor at a grave disadvantage in meeting the accusations.
Referring to the substance of the allegations, the tribunal said that the shoe incident was insignificant. The entry into the hall was in order to comply with a direction of the principal, and in relation to the "sweetie" accusation, the tribunal found the man a credible witness, and had no reason to disbelieve his denial.
Awarding €40,768 in compensation, the tribunal said: "We have regard to the major implications of a dismissal based on allegations of the kind in this case, and the great difficulty he will have in finding new employment. For these reasons his loss will be quite large, and it must be met by a large award."