Man sues employer for being paid £105,000 annually to 'do nothing'

An Irish man who earns a whopping £105,000 per year has sued his employer, claiming he is being paid to "do nothing" at his workplace.

The man, identified as Dermot Alastair Mills, works as a finance manager at Irish Rail in Dublin. He claims that he is not given anything "meaningful" to do because he raised questions about the railroads' accounts.

According to a report by The Daily Star, Mills was sidelined after he highlighted the irregular accounting matters at the company in 2014.

He has claimed that his duties were "hacked down to nothing" after he made the revelations nine years ago and that he spends most of his time reading newspapers, eating sandwiches, and going for long walks. He added that he has been blocked out of training opportunities and work meetings.

"I'd say if I got something that required me to do work once a week, I'd be thrilled," he said at a hearing before the Workplace Relations Commission. He further stated that he was being paid for doing nothing.

"I buy two newspapers, The Times and The Independent, and a sandwich. I go into my cubicle, I turn on my computer, and I look at emails. There are no emails associated with work, no messages, no communications, no colleague communications," Mills said.

Mills's representative, John Keenan, a former Irish Rail HR chief, said his client was still being "penalised." The adjudicating officer has adjourned the next hearing until February.

"I sit and I read the newspaper and I eat my sandwich. Then, about 10.30 a.m., if there's an email that requires an answer, I answer it. If there's work associated with it, I do that work," he added.

He has claimed that he was bullied after making the protected disclosure and left with a debt portfolio worth €8 million, which has now come down to €40,000. Meanwhile, Irish Rail has denied punishing Mills for the disclosure.