A telecoms specialist at Compaq Computers, who was sacked for using the company's mobile phone and e-mail to set up a Dublin listings magazine, has been awarded £3,000 by an employment appeals tribunal.
The tribunal found that Ms Michelle Mulvany, from Sutton in Dublin, was unfairly dismissed because Compaq did not give her an adequate warning before her dismissal.
The tribunal accepted she had misused company property but ruled it was not convinced Ms Mulvany knew the full gravity of this misuse, and Compaq had not taken disciplinary action when it first found out.
At the hearing earlier this year Ms Mulvany said she was told not to worry about making personal calls on her mobile phone and nothing about using e-mail. She presumed it was acceptable to use it within reason.
She said Dubfly - a guide to music venues and related events in Dublin - was not initially intended as a business but as a way of getting into clubs for free.
Under cross-examination Ms Mulvany said she had set up a limited company for Dubfly. She printed cards with the number for her mobile phone, which had been supplied by Compaq.
When Compaq became aware of the venture, some of Ms Mulvany's e-mails were down loaded. She was later called to a disciplinary meeting - treated as stage four in the company's disciplinary procedure - and subsequently dismissed.
The tribunal heard that Ms Mulvany had received unemployment benefit of £73.50 per week since then and had worked for Dubfly without pay. She ha d sought other work but one agency had told her that because she was dismissed from Compaq this would be difficult.
Mr Paul Ellingstad, communications manager for the technical customer support centre, said there had been no change in Compaq's dismissal procedures because of this case. Based on the response from the tribunal the award was a "token gesture".