WRC Rules IPAS Security Guard Unfairly Dismissed After Safety Whistleblowing

WRC Ruling on Unfair Dismissal and Gross Misconduct Allegations at Ballisodare IPAS Centre

You’re Secure Solutions Limited maintained that Christopher McDonagh was terminated for gross misconduct. The employer alleged that McDonagh entered the apartment of a female resident at the Ballisodare International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre alone and without a body camera. However, adjudication officer Breiffni O’Neill found that the company executed the termination without an investigation, a disciplinary hearing, or any prior opportunity for the worker to address the claims.

The tribunal records show that You’re Secure Solutions failed to produce a witness statement, CCTV footage, an incident report, or a body-camera log to substantiate the accusation. Furthermore, the evidence provided by the company’s managing director was classified as hearsay, given that he did not witness the event himself.

Protected Disclosures Under the Spotlight: Health, Safety, and Compliance Complaints

Between September 2024 and March 2025, Christopher McDonagh repeatedly raised concerns with management regarding security cover, fire-safety obligations, and Garda vetting at the IPAS facility. The WRC determined that these communications met the legal criteria for protected disclosures because they contained information indicating potential breaches of legal obligations and threats to public health and safety.

Adjudication officer Breiffni O’Neill noted that company management had grown deeply frustrated with the volume of McDonagh’s reports and may have viewed him as a nuisance or serial complainer. Despite this internal friction, the WRC underscored that the Protected Disclosures Act shields qualifying reports irrespective of whether an employer finds the feedback inconvenient. The tribunal ultimately concluded that these protected disclosures constituted the principal reason, or among the principal reasons, for the employee’s dismissal.

Breakdown of Financial Awards, Penalisation, and Mitigation Findings

The Workplace Relations Commission ordered You’re Secure Solutions Limited to pay a total of €15,200 across multiple heads of claim. Of this total, McDonagh received €14,000 specifically for the unfair dismissal, which the adjudication officer determined also constituted penalisation for raising health-and-safety matters.

Mr O’Neill reduced the calculated financial loss by 50% because the claimant had applied for only six security jobs and two caretaker roles during his 38 weeks out of work. Nevertheless, this reduction was counterbalanced by the tribunal’s condemnation of the employer’s entirely unreasonable summary dismissal process.

In addition to the dismissal award, McDonagh secured €500 compensation for working six Sundays without receiving additional compensation. An extra €700 was awarded after the company failed to provide written notice of changed terms when McDonagh was reassigned to the Ballisodare location. Several other complaints brought by the worker were either withdrawn or fell outside the permitted legal time limits.