Laid-off egg plant workers to get redundancy after reversing employer's liquidation

Three former workers at an egg production facility in County Galway have secured redundancy payments following a Workplace Relations Commission ruling, two years after their initial claims were rejected due to the company's dissolution. Ronan McGrath, Brendan Eifert and Mark Hughes had sought redundancy entitlements from Galway Free Range Eggs Ltd after losing employment in early 2020. Their original complaints could not proceed when the company was struck from the register. The men subsequently obtained a Dublin Circuit Court order in April 2021 to restore the company, enabling their claims to progress. Adjudicating officer Catherine Byrne upheld their complaints under the Redundancy Payments Act this week, finding their employment had been genuinely redundant. Mr McGrath, who managed the egg packing plant in Cregmore, had over nineteen years' service, while Mr Hughes and Mr Eifert had served approximately seventeen and twelve years respectively. The largest lump sum is understood to exceed €20,000. Their solicitor noted the case raised wider concerns about employees unable to afford similar legal action.