Action brought by former employee of Limerick's Adare Manor is resolved

A High Court action brought by a County Limerick man who claimed he was wrongly dismissed from his job at the five-star Adare Manor hotel has been resolved.  

Ger Finnin, from Patrickswell, had sued Tizzard Holding's Unlimited, trading as Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort, purchased by businessman JP McManus in 2015, over the termination of his employment for alleged 'gross misconduct' in early 2018. 

He denied being guilty of any misconduct and claimed he was dismissed for making protected disclosures to his superiors about regulatory breaches on the resort and had sought damages and aggravated damages for alleged breach of contract.

The company denied all of Mr Finnin's claims that he had been unfairly dismissed and said he was not entitled to any damages.    

On Friday, Mr Justice Senan Allen was informed by Anthony Kerr SC for Mr Finnin that peace had broken out between the parties.   

The dispute, which opened before the court on Tuesday, had been resolved and his client's case was being withdrawn, counsel added. 

Mr Finnin was employed at the resort as its director of Engineering and Facilities and was paid €65,000 plus benefits per year.  

Mr Finnin was responsible for security, management of all maintenance on the estate, health and safety for all aspects of the resort, the estate's IT infrastructures and environmental compliance.

The action arose over an allegation that on Christmas Eve 2017 Mr Finnin was observed taking a box of beer and a box of cider from a storeroom at the resort. The items were returned on December 27.  

A few days later Mr Finnin was made the subject of an internal investigation and disciplinary process for allegedly removing the boxes from the store without permission. 

Following an internal investigation and disciplinary hearing, conducted by senior staff at Adare Manor, Mr Finnin was dismissed after being guilty of conduct that amounted to gross or serious misconduct. That decision was upheld on appeal.  

He claimed those processes were fundamentally flawed, unfair and predetermined. He had claimed that following the dismissal his health had suffered and he had a heart attack. He also claimed that his reputation has also suffered as a result of his dismissal. The claims were denied. 

The company said Mr Finnin was guilty of gross misconduct and it was lawfully entitled to terminate his employment. It also said it provided Mr Finnin with both a fair investigation and disciplinary process. 

The defendant also denied that Mr Finnin was being penalised for making the alleged protective disclosures.