Bohemians chief scout Henderson awarded €26,000 for ‘sham redundancy'
The former club goalkeeper was sacked as chief scout last November by director of football Pat Fenlon on the orders of the board despite the club President Matt Devaney being unable to produce any meeting minutes at the hearing in May.
Adjudication Officer Christina Ryan rejected the club's redundancy grounds of budgetary cutbacks, concluding the treatment of Henderson was 'shocking'.
In awarding the maximum 104 weeks of salary in damages for unfair dismissal, totalling €26,000, she said: 'I find that the respondent (Bohemians) showed a cavalier disregard for due process and an unmitigated disregard for the law.
'I find that the dismissal of the complainant was nothing more than a sham redundancy carried out in a ruthless and dishonest manner without a single thought for the personal damage the respondent was inflicting on the complainant.'
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Attempts to resolve the dispute in the run-up to the hearing on May 13 failed.
'All I requested from the club was an apology for my reputation being tarnished,' said Henderson. 'That would have averted the case because this wasn't about money.'
The WRC was particularly critical of how alleged historical complaints formed part of the reasoning for Fenlon being instructed to 'get rid of' his staff member.
When Fenlon relayed the board decision to Henderson on November 30, 2024, a letter of complaint was cited. The board refused Henderson's request to view the letter, claiming the complaints were lodged verbally to the board on the condition of anonymity.
'The director of football went on to detail 'the other issues', which can only be described as issues of misconduct,' outlined the adjudication officer in her conclusion.
'It was accepted by the respondent's President (that these) went uninvestigated and were uncorroborated. Astonishingly, when questioned by the Adjudication Officer the respondent's President confirmed in evidence that no letter of complaint ever existed.
'Taking into consideration the evidence of the respondent's President and the complainant and the documentation furnished to the WRC, I find that these allegations were a gross fabrication designed to, for whatever reason, get rid of the complainant.
'I therefore find that there was no evidence before the WRC to support the respondent's contention that a genuine redundancy situation existed.'
Henderson comes from the famous goalkeeping dynasty, son of the late Paddy and brother of fellow netminders Stephen and Wayne. His nephew, Stephen junior, also played in the English Championship.
He and Fenlon were former teammates, firstly at St Patrick's Athletic where they won the 1990 title under Brian Kerr, and Bohemians.
His post-playing career primarily entailed supporting Fenlon in his various managerial jobs in Ireland and Scotland. He also operated as the Irish scout for Aston Villa.
Henderson didn't apportion blame to Fenlon in his submission.
'This situation has severely impacted my ability to continue working within football, a sport to which I have dedicated over 50 years,' said the 65-year-old.
'The reputational damage has also resulted in a significant loss of earnings and career opportunities, both immediate and long-term. I am now perceived as someone who has been subject to safeguarding concerns, despite there being no formal complaint or evidence to justify such claims.'
He represented himself at Lansdowne House, thanking committee members of the ex-professional players body for flanking him.
The Adjudication Officer also expressed her dismay at the club representative's unawareness of Henderson's functions.
Rather than merely recruitment, it had expanded to 'multi-faceted', including women's first team coach, chief scout for the academy and liaison with the respondent's partner club, St Kevin's Boys.
His scouting brief extended beyond the traditional remit of the national league underage circuit.
He identified Rhys Byrne playing for Crumlin United in the Dublin District league, the teenager whose winner at Shamrock Rovers in April acted as the catalyst for the first-team's revival. They are currently joint third in the table, 11 points off leaders Shamrock Rovers but with two games in hand to contest this month.
Bohemians have 42 days in which to appeal the decision to the Labour Court, should they choose to.
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Irish Examiner
16 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Bohemians chief scout Henderson awarded €26,000 for ‘sham redundancy'
David Henderson has been awarded the maximum compensation of two years' salary after the Workplace Relations Commission ruled his dismissal by Bohemians amounted to a 'sham redundancy'. The former club goalkeeper was sacked as chief scout last November by director of football Pat Fenlon on the orders of the board despite the club President Matt Devaney being unable to produce any meeting minutes at the hearing in May. Adjudication Officer Christina Ryan rejected the club's redundancy grounds of budgetary cutbacks, concluding the treatment of Henderson was 'shocking'. In awarding the maximum 104 weeks of salary in damages for unfair dismissal, totalling €26,000, she said: 'I find that the respondent (Bohemians) showed a cavalier disregard for due process and an unmitigated disregard for the law. 'I find that the dismissal of the complainant was nothing more than a sham redundancy carried out in a ruthless and dishonest manner without a single thought for the personal damage the respondent was inflicting on the complainant.' Read More FAI seek to push out hearing before Sports Committee on handling of historical abuse claims Attempts to resolve the dispute in the run-up to the hearing on May 13 failed. 'All I requested from the club was an apology for my reputation being tarnished,' said Henderson. 'That would have averted the case because this wasn't about money.' The WRC was particularly critical of how alleged historical complaints formed part of the reasoning for Fenlon being instructed to 'get rid of' his staff member. When Fenlon relayed the board decision to Henderson on November 30, 2024, a letter of complaint was cited. The board refused Henderson's request to view the letter, claiming the complaints were lodged verbally to the board on the condition of anonymity. 'The director of football went on to detail 'the other issues', which can only be described as issues of misconduct,' outlined the adjudication officer in her conclusion. 'It was accepted by the respondent's President (that these) went uninvestigated and were uncorroborated. Astonishingly, when questioned by the Adjudication Officer the respondent's President confirmed in evidence that no letter of complaint ever existed. 'Taking into consideration the evidence of the respondent's President and the complainant and the documentation furnished to the WRC, I find that these allegations were a gross fabrication designed to, for whatever reason, get rid of the complainant. 'I therefore find that there was no evidence before the WRC to support the respondent's contention that a genuine redundancy situation existed.' Henderson comes from the famous goalkeeping dynasty, son of the late Paddy and brother of fellow netminders Stephen and Wayne. His nephew, Stephen junior, also played in the English Championship. He and Fenlon were former teammates, firstly at St Patrick's Athletic where they won the 1990 title under Brian Kerr, and Bohemians. His post-playing career primarily entailed supporting Fenlon in his various managerial jobs in Ireland and Scotland. He also operated as the Irish scout for Aston Villa. Henderson didn't apportion blame to Fenlon in his submission. 'This situation has severely impacted my ability to continue working within football, a sport to which I have dedicated over 50 years,' said the 65-year-old. 'The reputational damage has also resulted in a significant loss of earnings and career opportunities, both immediate and long-term. I am now perceived as someone who has been subject to safeguarding concerns, despite there being no formal complaint or evidence to justify such claims.' He represented himself at Lansdowne House, thanking committee members of the ex-professional players body for flanking him. The Adjudication Officer also expressed her dismay at the club representative's unawareness of Henderson's functions. Rather than merely recruitment, it had expanded to 'multi-faceted', including women's first team coach, chief scout for the academy and liaison with the respondent's partner club, St Kevin's Boys. His scouting brief extended beyond the traditional remit of the national league underage circuit. He identified Rhys Byrne playing for Crumlin United in the Dublin District league, the teenager whose winner at Shamrock Rovers in April acted as the catalyst for the first-team's revival. They are currently joint third in the table, 11 points off leaders Shamrock Rovers but with two games in hand to contest this month. Bohemians have 42 days in which to appeal the decision to the Labour Court, should they choose to.
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2 days ago
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I'm former Bohemians star whose daughter has dreams of playing for Ireland despite being diagnosed with rare illness
THERE was a time when, such was his form in the League of Ireland, there was talk that Kevin Hunt could play for Ireland. Back then, the Englishman — who qualified through residency just over halfway through his decade-long stint with Bohemians — did not do much to fuel the speculation. 6 Kevin Long won three Premier Division titles with Bohemians Credit: Sportsfile 6 His daughter Sisi, 4, is a rising football star Credit: Chatham Town 6 She wears the same number, 4, as her dad used to Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 6 She was called into an Ireland U19 training camp But he did observe that he had perhaps developed more of an affinity with the country than some who had pulled on the green jersey who were eligible through the ancestry rule. That connection was underlined last week when his daughter, Sisi, took part in an Whether anything comes of it remains to be seen but for the 18-year-old — who, like her dad, wears the No 4 shirt for her club — to be in the mix is a reminder of how far she has come. In July 2008, at his request, Hunt cancelled his Bohs contract as he and wife Faye decided to return home after 13 years on the road between Hong Kong, Singapore and Ireland. Read More on League of Ireland The plan had been to settle here but with Sisi and her elder sister Holly — both born in family support proved too much. Holly is now studying London , with Sisi following in her father's footsteps and brother Miller, 11, also a keen footballer. Hunt celebrated his 50th birthday last Friday with his family in Bohemians fans would probably conclude she did not lick it off the stones. Most read in Football But Hunt — who has been working as an agent for the past nine years after time spent as part of Manchester City and Liverpool's scouting teams — admitted that the thought of her also becoming a footballer never occurred to him when she was younger. He explained: 'When they were younger, girls football wasn't really seen as a thing but it's so popular now. Oasis launch shock football club partnership despite Liam and Noel Gallagher's dying love for Man City 'It was only really when they were 10 or 11 that they started playing for their local team and Holly was playing until a year or two ago.' The growth of the female game was evidenced by the fact that she was part of the first intake of girls on a two-year scholarship in 2023. That meant full-time training as well as obtaining a BTEC in sport qualification, with Chatham Town narrowly failing to win promotion back to the English third tier. There are plans for dad and daughter to establish some sort of coaching school for girls in the area, with Bohs' 2001 Double-winning captain insisting he is a reserved parent on the sidelines. He said: 'I am very quiet, I wouldn't want to embarrass her. A few dads shout and scream but I just encourage her once in a while and we can have a quiet word afterwards. That's the way to do it. 'I was not desperate for my kids to play football but you see parents who really want it for their sons and daughters — and particularly for their sons. 'But the percentage of kids who make it is so small and, in the women's game, it's almost harder because there are so few who get to make a living from it. 'I just wanted — and still want — my kids to enjoy their football and see where it takes them.' 'LARGER THAN LIFE' For Hunt, that was halfway across the world and back again, ending up at Bohs with compatriot Dean Martin after Barnet manager John Still tipped off Roddy Collins about their availability after they had initially come to him on trial. After their first month, Collins could only keep one of them, with Martin gone after three games. Hunt lasted considerably longer, featuring in three title-winning teams. Although the former Gillingham player maintained contact with many of his ex-team-mates, visits back to Dublin were relatively infrequent. But a family trip for Bohs' opening league game of the season against Aviva Stadium in February rekindled the affection for Dublin and stirred memories, prompting him to make contact with the FAI's coaches about his daughter. He said: 'Roddy was still the same, larger than life. 'When we left, it wasn't that we made a clean break but we kind of had to start from scratch in building a new life back in England . 'But we had planned on settling in Dublin after I stopped playing and only left because the girls were so ill. We had been very happy there.' 'She had an accident and spilled hot water over her foot and leg and had second-degree burns so we weren't sure if she was going to be able to make it." Life had become difficult because both girls were so unwell. He recalled: 'Looking back now, it was a different life, a nightmare. We were in hospital with them the whole time and never really sleeping because they weren't sleeping. 'They had a lot of intolerances and allergies but they were different times then and we were almost being told there was nothing wrong with them. Wheat, gluten and dairy, their bodies just reacted to them. 'It was hard to get our heads around it — what was normal food for us was like poison for them. 'But as soon as we saw a professor in Great Ormond Street and he diagnosed what was quite a rare condition, we started to manage it and they became a lot better.' 6 The Long family You never stop being a parent, though, and there was another — thankfully temporary — health scare ahead of Sisi's international assessment. He explained: 'She had an accident and spilled hot water over her foot and leg and had second-degree burns so we weren't sure if she was going to be able to make it. 'I told her to leave it for a week and she improved and she got a couple of runs in but it was tough because her season had ended in mid-April. 'But it was a great experience for her considering she was born in Ireland and to be able to come back and be a part of it. It was the first time she had been involved in anything like that. 'She had a couple of days' training and a game against Treaty United and it was great for her and the coaches were really good to her. She's a vegan but they made sure she was well looked-after on that score.' Whatever happens next , it had the feeling of a full-circle moment for someone who was born — and might have grown up — here, had the circumstances been different. Hunt said: 'The girls have always felt a connection here, even though they were only young when they lived here and don't remember it. 'Faye and I always had a great affection for Ireland almost as soon as we came here. 'It was a massive part of our lives and would be something we'd talk about a lot at home. 'The girls have Irish passports , which is great for them, particularly after Brexit if they ever want to live anywhere else in Europe .' 6 Bohemians manager Roddy Collins celebrates victory over Aberdeen in the UEFA Cup Credit: Sportsfile
