An employee of Paddy Power (Online) Limited who alleges he was unfairly dismissed, has had his case struck out by the Employment Tribunal on the Isle of Man which found he had behaved unreasonably and scandalously.

Anthony Adenaike had brought an unfair dismissal claim against Paddy Power on the grounds of racial discrimination. However, the Employment Tribunal allowed the company to strike out Mr Adenaike’s claim due to his unreasonable behavior.

In the Judgment, the Tribunal Chairman said “I have no hesitation in the finding that Mr Adenaike has not behaved in this Tribunal courteously or civilly. He has been insulting on many occasions and offensive.” It was reported that Mr Adenaike had interrupted the Court proceedings on several occasions before noisily packing up and leaving during the hearing, despite his being warned that his unreasonable behavior may lead to the claim being struck out.

The Tribunal Chairman also commented “I have no hesitation in finding that Mr Adenaike has conducted his case in an unreasonable, disruptive and unruly manner. He has persisted to a point almost beyond the patience of anyone. I find that not only has Mr Adenaike behaved scandalously, vexatiously and unreasonably, but that he has conducted the proceedings in such manner as well.”

Although Mr Adenaike was allowed to appeal against the decision, a further appeal by Paddy Power in the High Court confirmed that the claim should be struck out.

This case should be seen as a warning to disgruntled ex-employees that if they do not conduct themselves in a reasonable and appropriate manner whilst bring a claim against their former employer, they may find that even if they have a strong case, their claim may be struck out on the basis of their poor behavior.