A man employed as a road sweeper with Dublin City Council was dismissed after supplying a sick certificate four days in advance of taking sick leave, an Employment Appeals Tribunal heard yesterday.
The tribunal was hearing an appeal by Dublin council against a recommendation of the Rights Commissioner that Joseph Lee, Ballyfermot, dismissed in November 2004 on grounds of misconduct, should be re-employed.
Gerry Geraghty, former senior executive officer in the council's human resources department, told tribunal members Kate O'Mahony, Clare O'Connor and Bill Brown he had upheld a decision to dismiss Mr Lee.
He said he did not understand how someone could be unfit on Friday, fit on Saturday and then unfit again on Monday.
Mr Lee visited a doctor after his shift on Friday, September 17th, 2004, complaining of back pain. He had been given pain killers and a two-week sick certificate to begin on the Monday. He handed in the certificate to his supervisor on the way back from the doctor, but then arrived in to work overtime on Saturday.
When he did not arrive for work the following Monday, the human resources department tried to contact him to request him to attend a medical examination. A registered letter and two hand-delivered letters failed to make contact.
Suggestions that Mr Lee had taken a holiday during the two weeks he was on sick leave were strenuously denied.
It emerged that his wife was ill and had been attending hospital on a daily basis during that fortnight. Mr Lee also gave evidence that they had been staying with his sister-in-law because he was incapable of bringing his wife to hospital due to his back pain.
And he said he attended work on the Saturday because if he hadn't, he would not have been allowed to work any overtime for a month.
"I took the pain killers and I felt a bit better," he said.
Tom Brady, national secretary of Impact, told the tribunal Mr Lee had worked with the council since 1980. Although there had been issues with sick leave in the past, he had a good record for his last 18 months.
Council area supervisor Christy O'Neill said he had worked daily for five or six years with Mr Lee, who always did what he was asked to do.
Ms O'Mahony said a determination on the case would be issued in a few weeks and suggested that both parties might consider having discussions in the interim.
