Liam Sheppard first got into a heated argument with the chef over the garnish required on a starter dish, according to the employment appeals tribunal in a decision published last week.

This argument involved "foul language" and culminated in the chef threatening to pour boiling water from the bain marie over Sheppard, according to the tribunal's report.

But because the hotel could not do without the chef, it was decided to "keep the two apart for the rest of the shift" rather than initiate any disciplinary action.

The pair squared up again a few weeks later when Sheppard, of Abercorn Square, Inchicore, Dublin, this time said to the chef:

"Why the f***are you looking at me?"

While the human resources (HR) manager of the hotel arranged a meeting between the two in which they apologised to each other, the chef again threatened the supervisor during the meeting.

The HR manager told the tribunal that Sheppard was "not happy" that no disciplinary action was taken against the chef and strongly felt he should have been dismissed.

But she claimed that when told of this, Sheppard had "lunged at her", though he denied this.

Hotel management later arranged for a mediator to try to resolve the dispute between the two.

But Sheppard said he was deeply unhappy with the mediator's report which "found fault with both sides". He quit his job, citing the failure of the hotel to "provide a safe environment where he was free from threats of violence".

The chef was eventually given a "written warning" over the incident and the HR manager told the tribunal there had been no incidents with the chef since.

The tribunal said that while Sheppard "may have been a difficult person to deal with", it was a "chronic failure" on the hotel management's part that it didn't even become aware of the "serious" boilingwater incident until six weeks after it happened.