A tribunal has ordered Torquay United owners Gaming International Limited to pay compensation of almost 17,000 to employee Kiaran O'Brien. The judge upheld a claim that Mr O'Brien was sacked from the company's Swindon Greyhound racing ground for whistleblowing.
In a judgement published earlier this month Mr O'Brien's complaint of "detriment at work for making a protected disclosure" was upheld and Gaming International, which bought Torquay United in 2016, was ordered to pay him compensation of 16,867. His claim of unfair dismissal was dismissed.
Mr O'Brien raised concerns about race-fixing and about an incident which led to a greyhound being seriously injured after his warning that an accident was likely to happen was ignored. The tribunal in its findings said Mr O'Brien's account was "detailed, coherent and plausible", while evidence from Gaming International "seemed to us to gloss over these concerns". In the tribunal's written findings Gaming International highlighted that his various disclosures to the Greyhound Board of Great Britain played no part in their dismissal of Mr O'Brien.
Gaming International's case focussed on a falling out between Mr O'Brien and the track's racing manager Clive Oseman. In addition to his facing office duties Mr O'Brien was the voluntary welfare officer for the track as part of the GBGB's commitment to the welfare of dogs at Swindon.
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