Employee who was found to have been working remotely from India, challenged his dismissal

Dublin, Ireland:   A PwC employee who was found to have been working remotely from India for weeks when he was supposed to be working in his Dublin office has unsuccessfully challenged his dismissal.

Ireland's Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has upheld the dismissal of PwC senior associate Jasch Asher, who secretly worked in India for weeks, leading the company to believe he was working from home in Dublin.

The tribunal has dismissed the claim of employee Josh Asher, who had completely broken the trust he had with his employer. WRC adjudicator Niamh O'Carroll said that Asher had deliberately misled the company and was "author of his own predicament" .

The way out of the lie

The incident began in November 2024 when the supervisor asked to meet Asher in person to assess his performance improvement plan. Asher's refusal to meet in person raised suspicions among management.

When HR contacted him on the phone, Usher lied that he was working from an apartment in Dublin. But when asked to appear in person at the office the next day, he admitted that he could not come.

With this, a detailed IT investigation conducted by PwC compared Usher's office swipe card information with the IP address on his laptop. The investigation revealed that he had not been to the Dublin office since September 30, 2024, and was logging into the company's servers from India.

Family problems and homelessness

Usher argued before the WRC that he had to go to India due to urgent family needs. He also said that he was left homeless after the owner of the house he was living in in Dublin decided to sell it.

Asher also claimed that he had verbal permission from his manager to work in India, but he was unable to produce any written evidence to support this.

Serious security flaws pointed out by the company

PwC clarified that company law only allows a maximum of 30 days of work outside the country in a calendar year with prior permission.

The WRC also observed that such international remote working without permission would pose a major crisis for global companies. The main threats that this poses are:

• Data security breaches : Handling confidential company and client information through unsecured networks in other countries is a major security threat.
• Violation of tax laws : When employees work abroad, companies face unnecessary tax liabilities and payroll issues in those countries.
• Complexity in labor laws : Conflicting labor laws in different countries can put companies in legal trouble.

The tribunal ruled that Usher had breached his own employment contract by absconding in violation of company policies. The commission therefore ruled that PwC's action in dismissing him was entirely legal and fair.