Office Worker Portrayed As ‘Employee From Hell’ Awarded €160,000

An office manager who was wrongly portrayed as “an employee from hell” by her employer and then fired has been awarded just under €160,000 by the Workplace Relations Commission for her unfair dismissal.

The Irish Times reports that the woman had been a loyal employee for a small family-run drugs company for more than 30 years.

After her boss died however, his wife took a more active role in the day-to-day running of the business and the woman's work-life took a turn for the worse.

Adjudication Officer in the case, Michael Hayes said that “it is simply not credible that the complainant turned into the employee from hell as submitted by the respondent having given 30 years of unimpeachable service to the point at which it is alleged she acted in such an offensive and reprehensible manner”.

The woman, who has not been named, said that she was left with no alternative but to lodge a formal complaint about bullying and issues regarding the safety of the work environment.

She was then dismissed from her job as a result of lodging this complaint.

The firm stated the late owner’s widow “found the complainant to be difficult to manage and increasingly uncooperative”.

The firm alleged the office manager “took long breaks and her attendance practices became increasingly unacceptable”.

The judge ruling the case ordered the employer to pay compensation of €159,705.

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