A former senior staffer has taken Bank of Ireland to tribunal after it fired him for sending e-mails containing "offensive" and "pornographic" images, according to the Irish Independent.
James Reilly was one of three BoI employees fired after a 2009 investigation that was triggered by a complaint from an outside company that its staff were receiving "lewd" e-mails.
An Employment Appeals Tribunal has heard Reilly will admit that he sent the e-mails from a company address, which had titles such as 'Adult Funnies' and 'Tsunami', and that they were offensive.
However, he claims he did not open the attachments before forwarding on some of the messages, that he was not allowed to access them during disciplinary meetings and was not given leave to resign.
The bank has rejected claims from Reilly that offensive material was "embedded" in the workplace.
BoI is no stranger to porn-related scandal. In 2004 chief executive Michael Soden was forced to quit his job after he was found to be using his office computer to surf porn and escort agency Web sites.
Soden's illicit computer habits came to light after a disgruntled IT staffer ran a check on his office PC. The bank blamed vendor HP for allowing the information to become public after it was leaked to the local press, demanding the firm pick up a portion of the tab for Soden's severance pay.
The Reilly case has been adjourned and is set for a full hearing at the end of June.
Banker fired for sending 'lewd mails' - Irish Independent