Philip Cosgrove of Commons Road, Cork, admitted to the Employment Appeals tribunal that he had "tipped" the female worker's wrist after she had tried unsuccessfully to fire used beer mats over the counter and into the bin.

But Cosgrove explained that, if he touched the co-worker, "it was in jest or endearment". Cosgrove also admitted that he had said "you bold little girl" when she fired the beer mats on the floor, but again said the words were "uttered jokingly and not in a chastising manner".

Cosgrove said that he regarded the female worker, whose job was to collect dirty glasses from tables, as a lovely, quiet, timid and shy girl "who wouldn't say boo to a mouse".

Cosgrove added that he had worked with her for a year and got on very well.

But the hotel management said that the female worker had become "hysterical" after the incident and had to be sent home.

The general manager of the hotel said that, after a week-long investigation, he dismissed Cosgrove on the grounds of gross misconduct.

This manager told the tribunal that he felt he had no other option, as he could not have the employees subjected to abuse. It was a "cut and dried case" and he did not regard the dismissal as disproportionate.

Cosgrove told the tribunal that he was "dumbfounded" by his dismissal. He said that it had affected his self-esteem and his confidence had been shattered.

Cosgrove told the tribunal that he had been fired for alleged bullying and assault and that the allegation would be with him for the rest of his life.

By a majority decision, the threeperson tribunal agreed that the rigid sanction of summary dismissal was "wholly disproportionate to the facts of the case" and was not a reasonable decision.

The tribunal also said that it did not accept the hotel's evidence that the female bar worker had become hysterical, and noted that she had relayed to management that she didn't want Cosgrove dismissed.