Galway Bay fm newsroom – A senior AIB official has told an unfair dismissals hearing he had an ‘open mind’ in assessing charges against a Barna man who claims he was bullied out of his job.
Sean McHugh is taking a case for unfair dismissal against his former employer, and alleges he was fired after 40 years service for complaining about his manager.
An Employment Appeals tribunal has heard from AIB Regional Manager Brendan O’ Brien, who held an oral hearing in 2013 into charges of alleged misconduct by Mr McHugh in relation to his handling of certain accounts.
Mr. O’ Brien says that at the time of that hearing, he did not consider himself bound by the findings of an earlier report from the banks special investigations unit and the charges set out.
He said he could identify with Mr McHugh because they had ‘similar levels of service in AIB’ – and, ‘in effect, it could have been me in his position’.
According to the Irish Times, Mr. O’ Brien told the tribunal that he took the contents of the report and the potential consequences for Mr McHugh very seriously.
The tribunal heard that Mr. McHugh was a ‘loyal servant’ who had worked with AIB since he was 17 years of age and, at the time of the alleged misconduct, was working as a senior bank manager at AIB’s business center in Galway.
It’s alleged that Mr. McHugh held a conflict of interest between his involvement in Galway United Football Club and the interests of the bank.
AIB also alleges that a further breach of discretion took place in relation to Mr McHugh accessing the account details of a number of customers.
Mr McHugh denies any conflict of interest and claims his manager, John Heapes, was a ‘huge player’ in his dismissal from the bank in March 2014.
The hearing was adjourned to February 10th next and is expected to last a further three days.
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