A construction worker who was fired after calling his employer a “sneaky rat” during a dispute over working hours has been awarded €9,000 for unfair dismissal.
David Donohoe, who worked for SJK Civils Ltd for 13 years, brought the case to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. He had been earning €50,000 a year at the time of his dismissal in April 2024.
The dispute arose on April 5, 2024, when Donohoe was asked to start work at 5:30am—an hour and a half earlier than usual—to collect building materials from Dublin and deliver them to a site. When he was told he would still be expected to work until 3:00pm, he refused.
He admitted calling his employer “a sneaky rat” during the argument, accusing him of planning the schedule in advance. Donohoe said he was then told, “Go home and don’t come back in Monday,” and he left the site.
The company’s director claimed that Donohoe was not dismissed at that time, but merely sent home. He said the formal dismissal took place two weeks later, on April 19, after Donohoe failed to attend a disciplinary “capability hearing.”
The employer argued that Donohoe’s failure to attend the hearing was a breach of a reasonable management instruction. However, Donohoe’s solicitor said the company had only tried to justify the dismissal after the fact.
WRC adjudication officer Anne McElduff found both parties contributed to the breakdown of communication but ruled that the company did not follow fair procedures in handling the dismissal.
She noted that Donohoe was not clearly referred to relevant company policy, was given an unreasonably short deadline, and had no appeal route outside of the director involved in the dispute.
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The commission concluded that SJK Civils failed to prove the dismissal was “fair, reasonable or proportionate” and awarded Donohoe €9,000 in compensation.
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