Arranmore co-op worker who said she was forced to quit over 'cute hoorism' remark loses claim

A worker at Arranmore Island co-operative in County Donegal has failed in a constructive dismissal claim before the Workplace Relations Commission. Fiona Glynn alleged she was forced to resign following a public remark by the then-chairperson concerning "cute hoorism", which she characterised as undermining and divisive. The co-operative, which operates sporting facilities, holiday homes, a café and a cultural centre on the island, denied the complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. Adjudicator Conor Stokes rejected the claim, finding that Ms Glynn did not exhaust the organisation's formal grievance procedure before resigning in August 2022. The adjudicator noted that Ms Glynn deleted thousands of emails from the employer's systems prior to departure, which undermined her position. He concluded she was not unfairly dismissed.