A salesman has said he was “damaged goods” in the medical devices industry since his ex-employer sacked him in a “no-fault” dismissal it now admitted was unfair, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) heard.Kevin Joyce, who earned over €160,000 as the territory manager for Ireland in urology and ear, nose and throat products at Ambu, has been unemployed since what he called his “unceremonious dismissal” last July. He told the WRC his ex-employer set an industry “rumour mill” turning against him with an email to staff announcing it had decided to “part ways” with him. He now intends to sue for defamation, the WRC heard. Mr Joyce’s lawyers told the tribunal at a hearing on Wednesday he had complained to the firm’s managing director overseeing Britain and Ireland, Sjur Nøland, about what he saw as a “disparity” in the disbursement of performance-related pay to sales staff. There was a lump sum of €18,000 at issue, the tribunal was told. After repeated attempts to address this with Nøland, he resorted to filing a formal workplace grievance, and an external investigator concluded that the issue he had raised “needed addressing”, Mr Joyce said. Rosemary Mallon, for the company, objected to Joyce giving evidence on the exact circumstances of his dismissal, arguing that since Ambu had conceded unfair dismissal, the hearing ought to be confined to the question of losses. There was a strong legal dispute about this, with counsel for the complainant, David Byrnes, arguing the adjudicator was bound to consider the employer’s conduct in effecting the dismissal. He said Ambu’s response to the grievance outcome had been to call his client to a videoconference meeting with Nøland, to be told by a human resources officer that the managing director “isn’t going anywhere”. The tribunal was told the staff email read: “Dear all, today we have decided to part ways with Kevin Joyce with immediate effect,”. “That email had huge ramifications for me down the line. The rumour mill that went out internally – as we know, the medical device industry is a small industry in Ireland and the UK. Everyone knows everyone, and word got out very quickly,” Joyce said. There were rumours that he had “done something gravely wrong” amounting to “serious misconduct”, Joyce said. “I was completely damaged goods, and not an attractive employee for anyone to deal with,” he added. “I was doing my own credibility, my own reputation, my own character, damage by putting my CV out there and having these conversations,” Joyce said. Under cross-examination, Mr Joyce set out that in the 10 months since his dismissal, he had documented 63 instances where he had inquired about new work, including 23 formal job applications. Mallon had said when Joyce was giving his chief evidence: “I confirm, for the avoidance of all doubt, there was no fault on the part of Mr Joyce.” Adjudicator Úna Glazier-Farmer has said she will write to the parties with her decision in due course. Mr Byrnes was instructed by Nikita Kelly of Lavelle Partners LLP; Ms Mallon by Mason, Hayes and Curran LLP