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DUNNES STORES HAD no option but to sack a check-out assistant for selling alcohol to a 16-year-old schoolgirl who bought it on the instructions of an undercover garda, a judge has ruled.
Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, heard that the plain clothes garda identified herself to Anna Perenc only after the sale of a bottle of wine to the girl had gone through at Stephen’s Green, Dublin, the company’s biggest store.
He overturned a decision of the Employment Appeals Tribunal which had directed Dunnes to pay Perenc €16,000 compensation for unfair dismissal.
Barrister Marcus Dowling, counsel for Dunnes, told the Circuit Civil Court that the company operated one of the most stringent procedures of any retailer in the country in order to make it almost impossible for an under-18 year old to be sold alcohol.
Mr Dowling, who appeared with solicitors Byrne Wallace, said that twice a year all check-out staff underwent training that highlighted the company’s identity checks on alcohol sales to anyone under the age of 23 – five years older than the legal limit – and warnings were posted in staff rooms.
“Whenever an alcohol sale is registered the check-out screen flashes red and directly prompts the employee to carry out a number of checks regarding the appearance and age of the purchaser,” Mr Dowling said.
He told the court the sale of alcohol to a child was a criminal offence both for the sales operative and Dunnes and the Stephen’s Green store could have been closed down by the gardai for anything between two and 30 days.
He said the facts surrounding the sale were accepted by both parties who also agreed the young girl used by the undercover garda looked her age and did not look 18 or older and certainly not over 23.
Perenc, who was represented by Mandate Trade Union which is not recognised in any negotiating role by Dunnes, had admitted her mistake but claimed Dunnes Stores had not followed proper procedures during its investigation and her dismissal.
Judge Groarke said Dunnes had a system in place which was specifically constructed to make sure that alcohol was not sold to children which constituted a crime.
“It is extremely important that retailers are seen not to sell alcohol to children,” he said.
Society doesn’t take kindly to shopkeepers who engage in that business and every retailer is entitled to take all reasonable steps to ensure mistakes are not made.
Dunnes Stores had put in place a system that was almost fool proof with notices all over the place to remind staff of their responsibilities and a policy that purchasers of alcohol must be aged 23 or more. Sales screens prompted employees to ensure they had gone through all procedures.
The judge said the eyes of society were on retailers of alcohol who had a very serious obligation to see that the law was applied before a bottle of any sort of spirits crossed the check-out counter.
Judge Groarke said he was satisfied Ms Perenc had known perfectly well what the consequences of selling alcohol to a minor would be and was aware she was in serious trouble when approached by the garda.
The judge accepted her mistake was a “momentary lapse” but he saw nothing unfair about the investigation procedure.
“It is very difficult to see somebody lose their job but Dunne Stores had no option but to do what they did do and I uphold the company’s appeal,” he said. He made no order as to costs.
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It bet it was a student on Transition Year work experience with Kevin St. Garda station that got to play that role!
More like a student who was caught in the local park with a naggin and told do this or your in big trouble!
And the first garda caught trying that on would be fired and the force sued.
It was totally her own fault , I’m surprised that she was previously awarded that 16k . it’s a shame that she lost her job over her own stupidity .
She’s lucky. In some jurisdictions she would have not only lost her job but would have been fined for supplying a minor. How’s and ever I do think that alcohol in supermarkets should only be sold at a dedicated alcohol counter. People on the regular tills are probably zombied after a few hours scanning items.I’d say they hear the “beep, beep” in their dreams.
True Paddy but a warning bleep must cleared before you can proceed with the sale .
Oohhh, a slightly different beep to the other millions of beeps.. ;-). I honestly do not know how those guys do it for 8 hours a day. I’d go “postal”. It’s would only be a matter of time before a difficult customer had their head pulled off, scanned, shoved in a brown paper bag and handed back to them. Probably one of those c#nts who root around in their purses to pay in loose change.
Most shops have in place that you have too “tell” the till the person is over age,stopping the “zombiefied ” accidental scanning.
It isn’t a beep it is message that comes up on the screen that the user must press to continue. No excuse and a lapse of mind is no excuse as that store has a dedicated off licence.
Employment tribunals tend to lose the run of themselves and are stacked against the employer..
I for one agree, I hate to see intoxicated children on the streets and actions and procedures like this help reduce the risk to our most vulnerable and valued members of soviety.
Did the young one get to keep the wine?
I still won’t shop in Dunnes because of their zero hour contracts.
What does their advert say?
‘Because we’re Irish’
No
It’s ‘because we’re scnm”
Tom , a few already mentioned to you yesterday that Dunnes have never had zero hour contracts .
The contracts they do have aren’t much better unless your with them a long time and do everything they want
Handy way of getting rid of staff.
Only the dodgy ones though.
Quality staff tend to be kept on.
Quality staff are inclined to leave when the opportunity to work for a more respectful employer arise.
By hiring incompetent ones ?
Everyone makes mistakes. Its pathetic in all fairness though. They can’t touch drug dealers so they go after people who are working with families etc. An undercover sting on a Dunnes worker real heros.
And if some journalist did a similar sting there would be outrage on here about ease of access of drink to minors.
Hard to win
Vincent , everyone makes mistakes but this girl didn’t . she knew what she was doing was wrong .
Surely illegal to use minors for under cover sting operations. Definitely immoral anyway.
Legislation was changed a few years back to allow it actually and is fairly common practice.
The kids don’t mind as long as they get to keep the bottle.
No idea how this is immoral. No problem with it at all and seems like the only viable way to check off licence sales.
If its procedure to ask for ID the individual in question failed to do their job however it’s very heavy handed to sack them when a verbal or written warning would have gotten the message through to them
It’s an actual criminal offence. Getting fired is being let off easy, really.
@J Judd
A Verbal or written warning???
So the Red Flashing Beeping Till Screen and the twenty posters in the staff room and various places around the store weren’t enough, but one more piece of paper would be?
Not heavy handed at all. There is a sign by the till, a warning message on the till before preceding, twice yearly training etc…
It was gross misconduct so the person gets fired. She was caught once but how often did she do it?
I was in cannes last yr and saw a 14 yr old kid with his mother, an earing in his ear and a beer in front of him while puffing a smoke. No big deal to noone and a regular thing to see. Only one with the stupid head was me.
An ear ring in his ear? Jesus that crazy
How do you know he was 14 and that it was his mother?
Eugene all was going well till you mentioned the smoking bit. I don’t mind teenagers having a few glasses of beer with Parents supervision but allowing you to smoke at 14 is outrageous
How did you know he was 14, did you check his ID? Did you ask them for a quick english lesson?
Some people on here are plain horrid :p
Laws are different in all the different eu member states Germany allows beer sales fromage 16 but spirits like vodka not until 18 and another law is that if a teen is with their parent they are allowed by law to drink low vol drinks like beer or cider from 14 . Smoking used to be 16 but has been raised to 18. France has the same laws. If we started talking about age of consent some would tear their hair out… Different countries different laws
And rightly so.
Whats the point in having an independent body that specialises in employment disputes if big companies with big money and resources can appeal to the circuit court. Government looking after there mates there.
@Vincent
Everyone has recourse to the courts regardless.
The employee in question was been supported by Mandate which have pockets deep enough to go to circuit court if necessary.
That Mandate ran with this against a company that refuses to deal with any union is telling.
But they can sell a trolley load of beer with no limit to someone who is 23
Isn’t that one
Isn’t it down to each persons interpretation, someone who might look 20 to one person might look 24 to someone else. Doesn’t apply in this case but doesn’t sound like anybody under 23 is a good guideline
have your say