The former crime correspondent of the Sunday Independent, Ms Liz Allen, has been awarded £70,500 for constructive dismissal. The Employment Appeals Tribunal found unanimously in her favour after one of the longest and most bitterly contested unfair dismissal hearings held in the Republic.
It is one of the largest awards yet made by the tribunal, which has also created an important precedent in employment law by including compensation for stress suffered by Ms Allen as a result of her dismissal.
In the past an employee could not claim compensation for loss of earnings after a dismissal if they were too ill to work. However, one of Ms Allen's legal team, Mr Tom Mallon, argued the tribunal had the right to take loss of earnings due to illness caused by the employer's behaviour into account.
The ruling could have a major bearing on future cases of constructive dismissal.
The hearings took place last February and April. In a 21page judgment, the tribunal chairwoman, Ms Mary Faherty, said no evidence had been offered by the Sunday Independent "to rebut the presumption of unfairness" and the tribunal found Ms Allen had not contributed "in any way" to her dismissal.
At the hearings there was sharply conflicting evidence from Ms Allen and several senior members of management about her experiences working as a crime reporter. She had been recruited in August 1996, when she left the Sunday Tribune to replace the late Veronica Guerin. She resigned in September 2000.
While the tribunal refrained from apportioning blame for Ms Allen's treatment between individual members of the editorial management, it stated that "the claimant's belief by September 1999 that her position as crime correspondent was being undermined was not an unreasonable one". It criticised management's failure to deal adequately or consistently with her complaints of harassment, isolation and feeling undermined.
"In all the circumstances of this case, the tribunal accepts as not unreasonable the claimant's belief that she could have no confidence in the respondent to address the complaints she made."
The tribunal accepted that neither reinstatement nor re-engagement were suitable remedies for Ms Allen, who has been unfit for work since her dismissal. While there was conflicting medical evidence over the nature of Ms Allen's illness, the tribunal was "satisfied that the claimant's illness was caused by the factors which led to her constructive dismissal".
In the circumstances, the tribunal found the illness had contributed to Ms Allen's financial loss. "It is clear that she is unable to work since her dismissal and at the time of this hearing she remains unfit for work." It concluded that she needed a period of almost two years to recover from her experience.
The award of £70,500 was equivalent to 19 months' salary.
Ms Allen, who is married to TV3's director of news, Mr An drew Hanlon, welcomed the finding yesterday. She said that she had been "to hell and back" as result of the case and now wanted to go back into journalism. "Hopefully I'll have a pleasanter experience than I had with the Sunday Independent.
"I never wanted to go this route. It was extremely difficult for myself and my family. I took the case to protect my career and professional reputation."
A spokesman for Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Ltd said the company was "studying the judgment at the moment and has no further comment at this time. The company is studying all its options, including an appeal."
Ms Allen is also pursuing a personal injury claim in the High Court against her former employers.