The Irish Independent reports that workers for a Guinness delivery subcontractor who had been fired without notice four years ago over “unscheduled and undocumented” keg deliveries to Dublin pubs have secured awards totalling over €114,000.
The story goes back to 2019 when the brewery’s delivery subcontractor, Shannon Warehousing and Transport Ltd, trading as STL Logistics, accused the workers of gross misconduct over what it called “unscheduled and undocumented deliveries of Diageo product” to the pub.
According to the drivers, the “unscheduled deliveries” involved transporting kegs between pubs on their routes as a form of customer service to publicans. They claimed that borrowing stock and returning replacement kegs by publicans had been an ongoing practice for years.
The tribunal was told that managers who interviewed the workers had looked for specifics the workers could not recall, which the workers’ barrister argued had been because the practice was so routine.
After a series of investigation meetings and disciplinary hearings, the 11 workers were dismissed in July 2019 – and their appeals were turned down.
However, delivering parallel rulings in the 11 cases, which were published today by the WRC, adjudicating officer Andrew Heavey rejected the company’s view, stating that their actions were not gross misconduct.
Mr Heavey said the drivers’ dismissal was not the “proportionate” sanction in the circumstances, noting the petition letter signed by other staff “confirming that swaps take place and have done for many years”. Also, Mr Heavey noted that no loss to the company was identified.
And so, Mr Heavey awarded the 11 workers who attended the hearing compensation ranging from €2,320 to €21,000 each as redress under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.
A separate colleague, Sean Corcoran, also secured orders for €5,200 for unfair dismissal and a further €2,720 in notice pay against the company.