One of the largest public sector employers in the State has sacked 16 members of staff over the past three years.

Details released under the Freedom of Information Act to Newstalk show Dublin City Council fired nine staff members in 2019 - six for attendance issues and three for gross misconduct.

In 2020, just three staff members were dismissed due to 'breach of the time and attendance policy'.

The City Council employs almost 6,000 people.

Jason O'Sullivan is principal at JOS Solicitors and specialises in employment law.

He said these figures would likely be higher elsewhere.

"The figures would probably be considerably higher if such a comparison was carried out on a private company or enterprise with similar staffing numbers," he said.

"It could be argued that those working in the private sector, as opposed to the public sector, operate in a more volatile work environment in respect to job security, performance and disciplinary action."

'A tricky area'

He said employers must follow correct procedures.

"The termination of employment can be a tricky area for employers, and they need to tread carefully before suspending or dismissing any members of staff," he said.

"Firstly, they need to ensure they have appropriate employment contracts in place along with well-drafted probation and performance-review clauses.

"Employers also need to have robust investigatory and disciplinary procedures, as to ensure the tenets of natural justice and due process is evident - particularly when serious allegations of gross misconduct are made against an employee, to avoid or mitigate against future claims for unfair dismissal."

Separate investigations

He said there can be several strands to this process.

"Where a disciplinary process is serious and may end in dismissal, the employee concerned should be informed of that at an early stage, preferably in letter of invitation to a disciplinary investigation meeting.

"Where a serious allegation is involved or an allegation in which the facts are not straightforward, a separate investigation should be conducted by a person other than that carrying out the disciplinary hearing to ensure impartiality.

"The employee being disciplined is entitled to specific details regarding the accusations they face and a copy of the evidence against them. This should be provided in good time to allow the employee a right of reply.

"Finally, the right of appeal must be provided and conducted by a person more senior than the original decision maker," he added.