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A FORMER MECHANIC with the Automobile Association, who was videoed helping his mother-in-law prune a garden tree while he was on sick leave, has won damages against the AA for breach of his personal data rights.
Judge Jennifer O’Brien also directed Philip McCabe’s former employer to account for the loss, erasure or destruction of a mobile phone video of him taken by a member of AA Ireland Ltd management from a car parked across the road from his mother-in-laws house.
The judge said Mr McCabe, of St James’s road, Walkinstown, Dublin, on August 29,2022 was on his last day of sick leave with a knee injury when he had been recorded assisting his mother-in-law, at her Lower Ballymount Road, Walkinstown home, cutting overhanging branches from the tree.
Judge O’Brien said Mr McCabe had been suspended with pay the following day and a fortnight later, after a disciplinary hearing, had been summarily dismissed. He had failed in an appeal against the decision and afterwards settled a case relating to his dismissal through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
In a reserved judgment Judge O’Brien said that in the afternoon of August 29, 2022 Mr McCabe noticed a vehicle occupied by senior members of AA management parked across the road and, after approaching them, he saw his Operations Manager, Adam Staunton, was recording him.
Barrister Jamie Quane, who appeared for Mr McCabe, had told the court the video had not been used as evidence for his dismissal or during his WRC claim as the AA had claimed to have had “three very credible witnesses to the event” in the car.
Judge O’Brien said it was claimed by Mr McCabe that information had been recorded, used and processed in breach of the provisions of the GDPR and the Data Protection Act and in violation of his constitutional rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
He had also claimed AA Ireland Ltd had used his personal data for surveillance and tracing his private movements, unlawfully processed it and had collected it for an illegitimate purpose.
“By letter of 15th November 2022 (AA Ireland Ltd) denied processing or possession of the covert video…and Mr McCabe claimed if it was not in the AA’s possession it had been unlawfully deleted or destroyed,” Judge O’Brien stated.
She said Mr Adam Staunton had sworn an affidavit in which he had confirmed he did not hold a video recording of Mr McCabe in any capacity whatsoever; did not have access to any such video; confirmed he had never shown anyone in AA Ireland Ltd a video of Mr McCabe and that he had not transferred any video of him to AA Ireland or anyone else.
Conor Kearney, counsel for AA Ireland had stated the recording had not been taken on the instructions of AA Ireland and that it had been deleted. Judge O’Brien noted AA Ireland had not produced any sworn testimony that the offending video had been deleted by Mr Staunton.
“While the defence… states the video was deleted this is unsatisfactory in circumstances where Mr Staunton’s sworn affidavit does not address this,” Judge O’Brien said. It had been submitted that the recording had not gone beyond Staunton’s phone and, as such, there had been no processing on the part of AA Ireland. It had never been handed over.
Judge O’Brien said one of the grounds for Mr McCabe’s dismissal had included his angry reaction to Mr Staunton recording him and in her opinion it was incumbent on AA Ireland to account to Mr McCabe for the erasure or destruction of the mobile phone video.
She said that given the seriousness of the steps taken against Mr McCabe following the video it was in the interests of fairness and transparency that a copy of it be made available to him and that he be reliably informed of its destruction. This may have assisted him in defending the actions taken by AA Ireland.
Judge O’Brien awarded McCabe €5,500 compensation for damage suffered by him in the infringement of the Data Protection Act and made a declaration that AA Ireland Ltd had breached his personal data rights.
Awarding him his full legal costs Judge O’Brien also made an order directing AA Ireland Ltd to account to Mr McCabe for the loss, erasure or destruction of the mobile phone video.
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Unless I read it incorrectly…he was on last day of sick leave so presumably he was fit to return to work next day..why did they have a problem with that ?
@Sean: and you believe that
@Shane O Mac: why wouldn’t we believe it? It’s a fact that was not disputed by either party
@Shane O Mac: yes, why not? He can’t just declare himself fit and arrive at work. He has to let the company know at least a week in advance of his return date..
@Sean: Yeh. Sooo weird. Such a weird and perverse thing to do. A clear and open display of a toxic and bad attitude from the top of that organisation. Probably the most toxic Organisational Culture I have ever heard of.
Not only that. But fer jaysus sakes like. There is such a thing as *pro-active* recovery.
Yer not supposed to be “coddling” injuries, much less knee injuries or post-surgery knees.
Nor are you supposed to jump up and go hell-for-leather on them, lifting heavy wheelbarrows of construction debris or something equivalent.
The goal is usually to get back on your joints and gradually increase the burden/work demands on them.
Yennow, burdens such as carrying your body weight. Then carrying your body weight while tipping out of balance. Then carrying bags of compost for yer granny, and/or climbing ladders to clip hedges for yer mammy-in-law. Yennow, before you start climbing ladders to fix roof tiles at work, or before you have to climb into an inordinately and inhumanly high-stepped workplace truck/van cab, or start scrambling up on Tow-Truck beds, or dragging over-turned HGVs back onto their wheels for towing, or getting physically attacked by irate members of the public who’s vehicle you are *not* towing and who are not even customers.
Plus, damages, I assume. Off work on medical grounds irrespective of pruning a hedge with a bad knee is not grounds for coworkers stalking a relatives house.
@Paul Somers: buts is OK for an insurance company to do it.
@P. V. Aglue: he wasn’t suing the AA for injuries, damages, pain and suffering etc …. so yes it is OK to gather evidence in your defence when you are being sued maliciously and or fraudulently.
I’ve been a customer of AA for the last 15 years and this really leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Makes me question do I really want to stay with them as a customer if this is how they treat their staff.
So you’ll get followed and recorded if you go on sick leave anytime working for the AA. Thank god I don’t have to work for them. Knowing that would permanently have you out on stress leave!
I hear he’s now self employed as a tree surgeon
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: He went out on a limb.
@SV3tN8M4: Leaf him alone.
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: always good to branch out to other fields
Just proves the boss was right, he was spoofing while off work
@Shane O Mac: no it doesn’t, hard to believe 21 other tikos agreed with ya. Read the story properly or get someone to read it for ya if you have difficulty in that area.
@Shane O Mac: Dumbo — RTFA ffs!
It’s hard to judge when we don’t know the people involved. The guy could have been a waste of space and they were looking to get rid off him and this was their excuse or the manager is a real …. and wanted to use him as an example to scare other staff . Seems a bit extreme to creepy stalk someone when they are nearing the end of sick leave so I suspect its the first!
Your jobs, as “journalist”, is not to merely regurditate actions, counter-behaviours, and/or discourse.
Your job is to extract all facts, all actions, all statements, all claims and counterclaims, all alleged points of order and/or law and then to examine, explain and give analyses on all components therein.
Otherwise you are just spewing an absolute dose of scour that is marginally better than the braindead numpties in tabloids who regurgitate the aural, aka *radio*, weather forecast . . .in bleedin’ print!! [Sweet-mother-o'-divine-jaysus!]
For (bare minimum) example, how about you extract and explain:
“…it was claimed…that information had been recorded, used and processed ……. in violation of his constitutional rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.”
[correction: "Constitutional" and "Rights" are Capitalised words in this context]
How is this, or how might this be, a violation of Constitutional Rights? Yes. You do not yet know the full arguments, but you *can* attempt a multitude of hypotheses. You *can* put forward likely explanations as to how, or in what way, the Constitution affords Rights with regard to….what? Surveillance? Filming? Activities within the bounds of the Private and/or Residential Property?
Or maybe it is in relation to health/health recovery/injury?
Or maybe it directly relates to Employer? Or Employer-Employee relations? (which I personally would have assumed is not in the Constitution itself, but in subsequent and seperate Labour Laws only. Am I really alone in such a laypersons presumption?).
Same request regarding “ECHR”?
Do you lack journos versed in, or transient/temporary consultants for, Constitutional Law and/or European HR Law?
If so, why?
Let’s face it. If Journo (as sometimes inadequate as it is, occasionally kicking balls as it does) joins those profoundly inept government lackies at the Indo/Sindo, it is only gonna get worse!
Maybe don’t look “up” to the giant (full of hot air).
Maybe ‘cut yer cloth’ (budget/cost effectiveness) by recruiting the rare few solid hardworking journos left in the smaller County Papers. (Yennow the ones, among whom 1 was the first, *from both islands* of Ireland and Britain, to put their finger on the more profound and pertinent relevance of “Pound Per Square Inch” in relation to XL Bully vs Lion vs German Shepherd when it comes to “defining parameters of confirmation relating to prohibition vs breed identifiers vs cross-breeds vs dogs of ambiguous or unknown origin/breeding”). Maybe grab a few of those damn good ones, on temporary rotations for specific types of articles (while they simultaneously continue working permanently/fulltime with their County paper).
Maybe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But definitely cut the regurgitative waffle waffle.
It’s like reading the first Nature Scientists – mere observers “reporting” dry observations.
Or a written report on the observation of the first philosophical dialogues . . . . . without any philosophical content or context. Just merely a report “this person spoke. Then that person spoke. Then someone said “blah”, and I neither know nor wish to know nor intend to disclose the context or meaning or motive behind “blah”. It was just said. The end.”
Christ-on-a-bike!
If the journos of today were reporting on Plato – there would be no field of Philosophy.
And everyone (not just thick Americans) would be saying “Plato, who?” With profoundly blank and indifferent stares, and expressions of ‘resting bored AF face’.
@Pink Freud: your great craic I’d say
@Pink Freud: Wow great rant.
@Pink Freud: Are all your comments so short?
@Keith: Journalism =\= “Craic”.
The Free (not Fascistic, nor couldn’t-be-fekd) Press is a fundamental tenet of Democracy, sustained Sovereignty, and enduring post-Colonial Freedom.
I’d say Julian Assange was “mighty craic” when the entirety of the Irish, European and supposedly most-free “western” / “free world” Press were self-censoring and cowering under the threat of the long arm of American Fascistic injustice, tyranny, war crimes impunity, and International Oppression of the formerly Free Press.
@Pat Collins: When one has to re-write the articles, one must…..
;-P
@John Mulligan: XD It was pure rant-y, wasn’t it. Oops! But at least its a bit of a step up from the blind bleating of “fk da Mainstream Media” (with no further input as to what exactly is wrong, what you/they feel is missing, and/or what can be done to do it better).
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Was he pruning a tree or really double AA7 Special Branch.
One would also think that so-called “journalists” would also, simultaneously, extract, examine and question – why the AA and/or Staunton were not *Criminally* Charged and Prosecuted for *Stalking* and *Harassment*?
One would expect a supposed “journo” to question and challenge everyone in the chain of Legislating to application of Legislation (Politicians who wrote Legislation on Stalking/Harassment, Campaigners for it, Gardaí enforcing it, DPP Prosecuting it and/or Solicitors both Prosecuting and Defending cases on such legislation).
Do the Laws on Stalking, Coercion, and Harassment include ALL existing and future projected, theoretical and real and historic, forms? Do they pertain to all and any forms of relationships between persons of imbalanced power?
Such as Employer/Employee.
And ***Cults, Cult Members, former Cult Members, Families of Cult Members***???
What about well established “group stalking”? (When the abuser recruits/grooms/exploits acquaintances or family or friends of the victims, for information on the victim. And/or, when a Cult, OCG, or “Political Org” [read: Fascists. Or anti-abortionists aka Christian-Supremacist-Fascists] weaponise groups, randomers, paid lackies, anonymous volunteers “for the cause” to Stalk and/or Harass and/or Coerce many persons of a certain type – thus a social sub-group – rather than a sole individual!?!).
And if such Legislation and Legislators have failed to protect citizens from ALL sources of Coercion, Harassment, and Stalking, during this early 21st Century Legislative opportunity.
Why have they?
And also, why have you – the Media – failed to challenge this during the Legislative process? (IF all persons aren’t protected from all sources, and types of sources, under the Law. So, are they?).
@Pink Freud: Any chance you could make your posts a bit longer!!
@Deirdre Moffat:
@Amanda O Rourke (amanda88): :) :) I was thinking that too..
@Deirdre Moffat: Excuse youuuu! I went out of my way to (oopsidentally) re-write the article for them. :P
@Pink Freud: Oh dear! ChatGPT overload!! Careful now.
@Mies Valkenburg: Hun. ChatGPT couldn’t keep up with me. The “reply” button is working for me for the first time ever, now. Gawd help ye all!!
XD
Wig
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