As Reported in Today's Irish Times, a former Ticket Inspector has been reinstated to their role following what was described as a "Moment of Madness". Aisha Olukoya reacted in a “fleeting moment” of despair in November 2010 after being racially abused and spat at by a man begging outside the Tallaght station. He threatened to cut her throat and tried to follow her on to the Luas but was stopped by staff. Ms Olukoya was dismissed in December 2010 from her €35,000 a year job.
Ms. Olukoya had an “exemplary” six-year record before the incident, she had been named “employee of the month” three times and had previously been praised for her conduct. The Tribunal took account of this when looking at the proportionality of the overall sanction and ordered her reinstatement. We have previously posted on how a previous unblemished record can be taken into account when looking at these matters. The decision is yet to be published but will be interesting reading, it is however important to note that reinstatement means they are reinstated to their role and receive back-payment for the time they were dismissed which in this case amounts to over €70,000. We will await the full decision on this.
