A maid sacked after three-and-half years because her cleaning was not good enough has won a €5,000 payout.

Louisana Brincat was given just 10 minutes’ notice that she was being fired from St Martin’s Institute of IT.

An industrial tribunal ruled she was illegally sacked in 2011 without having the chance to defend herself over accusations that her cleaning was not of the required standard.

The tribunal, chaired by Harold Walls, heard that Ms Brincat had been employed since November 2007 and was fired on April 29, 2011, 10 minutes before she was due to finish work, when her boss called her to his office.

Noting that management had previously drawn her attention to the fact that her cleaning was not up to standard, the tribunal noted this was never put down in writing except once, a year before she was sacked.

The warning she was given was too generic and did not include specific examples of what, in management’s opinion, Ms Brincat was doing wrong.

She insisted she was doing her job well and whenever her attention was drawn to shortcomings she always gave explanations.

The tribunal ruled that Ms Brincat had been sacked illegally, suddenly and without being given the opportunity to defend herself. Moreover, the management did not issue a charge sheet – as was usually the case in disciplinary terminations – indicating the date and time of any shortcomings so employees could defend their position.

The tribunal ruled the termination was illegal and ordered St Martin’s Institute of IT to pay Ms Brincat €5,000 compensation.