WRC awards almost €40,000 to retail manager with alcohol dependency who was dismissed for being intoxicated at work

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in recent weeks awarded almost €40,000 to a Supermarket Manager who was dismissed after he drank himself “comatose” on the premises when his employers went away to a wedding. The WRC Adjudication Officer noted that both sides accepted that the Complainant was an alcoholic and that this is well-recognised disability. The AO found that the Employment Equality Act’s requirements to make reasonable accommodation to allow the worker to perform their duties (disability notwithstanding) to the best of their efforts were ‘paramount’, even in the circumstances of a breach of trust.