Day 174 - 17 Oct 95 - Page 35
1
2 Q. -- would be if they ignored that third written warning?
3 A. Yes, exactly, yes.
4
5 Q. Then how would they be dismissed; is it a written dismissal
6 or is it an oral dismissal, or what?
7 A. It could be an oral dismissal.
8
9 Q. It could be?
10 A. Yes.
11
12 Q. Do you know what the standard practice was?
13 A. In 1985?
14
15 Q. Yes.
16 A. No, I cannot recall the exact policy.
17
18 Q. Would it be fairly normal to get a written dismissal?
19 A. It probably could vary. I mean, I cannot say for
20 sure. After a final written warning -- remember that the
21 final written warning is in writing -- if a dismissal
22 followed that, it could be verbally or it could be in
23 writing.
24
25 Q. But, presumably, the Company would keep some record of --
26 I mean, we have heard that in this country I think there is
27 a record kept of the category, the reason of why the
28 employee left. Is that similar in Ireland?
29 A. Yes, it is, in this sense, that you have to record the
30 reason for dismissal.
31
32 Q. Right.
33 A. And that would normally be recorded on the employee's
34 record.
35
36 Q. In their personnel file?
37 A. Yes, in their personnel file.
38
39 Q. You said that the Company probably goes a bit overboard in
40 keeping its files; is that not correct?
41 A. I said that we keep -- we have had a tendency to keep a
42 lot of files.
43
44 Q. So, for example, files like that, personnel files, are they
45 kept, or how long would they be kept for?
46 A. Personnel files, by law, have to be kept for, I think
47 it is five years. I am not sure of the exact condition,
48 but I think it is in that region.
49
50 Q. What about when the Company gets into some kind of court
51 procedure, or something like that; does the Company keep
52 its records of the procedures and what happened?
53 A. There is not any difference in keeping records that
54 I am aware of, other than the legislation that applies to
55 employee files.
56
57 Q. So, if you have some great controversy about something or
58 other, that does not mean that you are any more likely to
59 keep your files on that than just somebody who leaves by
60 the by and nobody blinks an eyelid?
