Man cleared of sexually harassing niece

A man was this morning cleared of sexually harassing his niece.

The company of which he is director was, however, ordered to pay the woman €3,000 in compensation for her unfair dismissal.

The employee accused her uncle of sexually harassing her and unfairly dismissing her in an Industrial Tribunal.

She claimed that her uncle, who was separated, usually invited her over to his house, bought her expensive jewellery for Christmas and offered her a flight to Europe on condition that she went with him.

The man refuted all claims saying he dismissed the woman because she made too many mistakes at work and she had been given three warnings in eight years.

He told the tribunal, presided over by lawyer Martin Fenech, that he bought Christmas presents for all his employees and denied ever telling his niece to go abroad with him.

The tribunal said that the company had to be consistent on the measures it took against its employees and could not take action on mistakes that were accepted in the past.