Claimant v J Murphy & Sons Limited

Outcome

Facts

Mr O'Neil, a very long-serving site supervisor with an unblemished record, was supervising overnight rail infrastructure work when a serious incident occurred: a large cable spool and A-frame fell from a vehicle trailer, narrowly missing a worker by seconds. The incident occurred in circumstances where Mr O'Neil had multiple roles that night, had not fully read a flawed lift plan, signed off on a deficient plant operations plan without site inspection, and allowed movement of the RRV before equipment was secured. An extensive investigation followed, concluding that while systemic failures and resourcing issues contributed, Mr O'Neil had committed serious health and safety breaches.

Decision

The tribunal found the dismissal fair. While sympathetic to Mr O'Neil's argument that he was a scapegoat for wider organizational failures, the tribunal concluded that the respondent genuinely believed the misconduct occurred, conducted a reasonable investigation, followed a fair procedure, and that summary dismissal for admitted serious safety breaches in a safety-critical role fell within the band of reasonable responses, despite Mr O'Neil's long service and exemplary record.

Practical note

Legal authorities cited