Blarney Castle Knitwear Ltd has been ordered to pay over £21,000 to a former employee who resigned "in the heat of the moment" after a row with a supervisor. Mr John McSweeney, of Blarney, Co Cork, had worked for 28 years with the company.
Mr McSweeney, a knitting machine mechanic, told the Employment Appeals Tribunal that he had complained repeatedly about having to sort piles of knitted pieces left by other employees.
This eventually led to a row with his supervisor on July 9th, 1998. He told the tribunal he "lost it" and gave two weeks' notice.
The next day was a Friday. Mr McSweeney was given a letter at 3 p.m. which he did not open until he was on his way home. It gave him until 5 p.m. to rescind his notice. On Monday he found his job was being advertised.
He made no attempt to discuss his situation with management during the rest of the week because he felt the matter had already been decided. The following two weeks was a holiday period and when Mr McSweeney returned his P45 was in the post.
The tribunal cited a ruling from the English Court of Appeal in which Lord Justice Fox stated that a resignation tendered in the heat of the moment was one of the exceptions to the rule that an employer was entitled to accept and act immediately on a resignation.
The tribunal said there was an obligation on the employer to clarify the situation. For the opportunity of withdrawing the resignation to be real, the company should have made Mr McSweeney aware of the contents of the letter.
Advertising the position and failing to discuss the matter with him meant that it was reasonable for Mr McSweeney to feel unwanted.
The tribunal awarded Mr McSweeney £18,500 compensation for the loss of his job and eight weeks' pay in lieu of notice. This payment was worth another £2,667.60.