Galway Bay fm newsroom - A director of an Irish subsidiary of video game giant Electronic Arts has secured a High Court injunction preventing his dismissal.
The order was made in favour of Jean Philippe Grenet, who is the director of global delivery service for Electronic Arts Ireland in Galway.
He was initially dismissed for allegedly making an inappropriate comment in a one to one video call with a colleague in November.
Electronic Arts, which opposed the injunction application, claims Mr. Grenet was validly terminated on a no-fault basis in a decision it made on December 10th.
It followed an incident in November, in which Mr. Grenet is alleged to have made an inappropriate comment in a video call to a worker based in Texas.
Mr Grenet accepts the remark was a clumsy, inelegant and ill-advised expression - but says it means he "did not want to challenge" that particular person on a work matter.
However, he claims the complainant is motivated by malice after failing to secure the role he was appointed to - and that EA did not follow correct procedures in dismissing him.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Tony O'Connor said he was satisfied to grant the orders after Mr Grenet's lawyers had established that there are serious issues to be tried in the case.
He found that the risk of injustice to the parties favoured the granting of the injunction which restrains EA from dismissing him until proceedings have been decided and that he be paid his salary and benefits during that period.
He also directed EA not to appoint any other person to Mr Grenet's position pending further order.
The Judge also urged the sides to consider having the dispute go to mediation and adjourned the case to a date in January.
