Constantly late for work Dublin strip club bouncer awarded compensation after he was unfairly sacked

Club Lapello, Dame Street, Dublin.

A doorman at a Dublin strip club who was constantly late for work has been awarded €680 after being unfairly dismissed from his job.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ordered Starshine View, the company which runs Club Lapello on Dame Street in Dublin, to pay the compensation to its former doorman, Aybars Bayram.

The company claimed it had sacked Mr Bayram on July 14, 2022 for persistent lateness at work.

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A representative of the club, Ciaran O’Flynn, said the complainant’s role with the company was very important as the club could not open without a doorman.

Mr O’Flynn pointed out that the dancers at the club are self-employed and do not earn any income if the club is closed.

He told the WRC that significant issues are created for both the club and the dancers if it has to open late.

Mr O’Flynn said Club Lapello had lost one hour and 45 minutes of trading in the last weeks of Mr Bayram’s employment because of his late arrival for work.

While he accepted that there were situations where a staff member might be late, Mr O’Flynn said it was a consistent problem with Mr Bayram.

The WRC heard that he gave the doorman a written warning on July 8, 2022 and took the decision to dismiss him six days later when he was late again for work.

Evidence was heard that gardaí called to inspect the club on July 13, 2022 when they were initially stopped by Mr Bayram before they were admitted by a manager.

Mr O’Flynn said the incident had nothing to do with the decision to dismiss the doorman.

However, he pointed out that he had tried to speak to Mr Bayram the following night about what happened with the gardaí but the doorman arrived 45 minutes late for work.

Mr O’Flynn said he felt he had no choice but to dismiss the doorman at that stage as Mr Bayram never had a valid excuse for being late or offered any apology.

In evidence, the doorman, who had worked at the strip club for over four years for a weekly salary of €680, denied that he had ever received any warning letter about being late for work.

He accepted two meetings had been held at which the issue of staff lateness was discussed but he insisted they related to all staff rather than particularly to him.

Mr Bayram said he had worked at Club Lapello while finishing his masters degree but had found the pandemic very difficult as he had to work other jobs.

The doorman, who informed the WRC that he had found alternative employment after three months, acknowledged that he was 10-15 minutes late at times.

In his ruling, WRC adjudication officer, David James Murphy, said there were a number of serious defects in the process followed by the club in dismissing the doorman.

Regardless of the contradictory evidence about a written warning, Mr Murphy said there was no evidence that Mr Bayram had actually been invited to respond to specific allegations of persistent lateness and that such a response was considered before any disciplinary sanction was issued.

Mr Murphy said the doorman had not applied for work for two months after his dismissal so that any award should be limited to when he was actively seeking employment.

He calculated that Mr Bayram’s actual loss from the dismissal was €2,720.

However, the WRC reduced the level of compensation to €680 on the basis that the former doorman did not dispute the claim that he was regularly late for work and that it caused loss for the club and its dancers.

Mr Murphy acknowledged that the level of lateness as described by the company would normally justify dismissal.

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