The Central Bank of Ireland has reached a settlement with a forensic investigator it sacked after she complained of alleged “ill treatment by a manager”.
The deal was confirmed to the Workplace Relations Commission on Friday when the worker, Nigar Babayeva, signed papers withdrawing complaints she had brought under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 against the State agency.
Whistleblower penalisation had been alleged.
The tribunal heard Ms Babayeva, who was dismissed by the bank in July 2023, had filed a grievance against a manager during her probationary period.
Her solicitor, Setanta Landers, told a preliminary hearing last October: “Ms Babayeva made complaints to HR about ill treatment by a particular manager. That communication was shared, we will say, with that manager by HR.
“That manager, who was not her contractual manager or overseer, fired her himself whilst she was on sick leave, and without, we say, contractual authority, so there’s a real question as to whether she was terminated,” he said.
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“One of the grounds of appeal was his authority to dismiss her. She was managed by him, but contractually she didn’t report to him. We opened up a protected disclosure about the handling of her complaint – it was handed to HR, handed back to that manager, who terminated her,” Mr Landers said.
Disputing this, Niamh McGowan, for the respondent, said that the “allegation” about “information being shared with the manager” would be at issue in the case.
Ms McGowan also argued at last year’s hearing that the WRC’s jurisdiction in the case was limited because of the timing of Ms Babayeva’s complaints, and aspects of it were “statute-barred”.
The Central Bank had previously asked the tribunal to hear the case behind closed doors.
Adjudicator Orla Jones was set to hear the case over the course of three hearings on Friday and next week, but was told on Friday morning by Ms McGowan that the parties had “agreed in principle to resolve the matter”.
She said the parties were “working on a pre-existing settlement agreement” and that it was anticipated Ms Babayeva would be in a position to sign the WRC’s complaint withdrawal form in “perhaps an hour”.
Ms Jones returned to the hearing room just before 1pm and said: “Are we in a position to sign the withdrawal form?”
Both sides’ representatives said they were ready, and Ms Babayeva, who had travelled to Ireland from her home in Poland for the hearings, signed the form.
Mr Landers confirmed the withdrawal was with immediate effect. Both sides’ solicitors then photographed the document.
The parties thanked Ms Jones and the adjudicator closed the hearing.