Courts / Ireland / Report

Ryanair operations officer unfairly dismissed and punished, WRC finds

Summary

Ryanair was found by the Workplace Relations Commission to have unfairly treated flight ops officer Gary Howard, who was made redundant during the Covid‑19 lockdown. The airline had denied Howard a €2,500 bonus that was paid to his colleagues, and the tribunal described this as a "double punishment." The commission ordered Ryanair to pay the bonus in addition to a €5,000 award for unfair dismissal. Howard's redundancy was deemed legitimate, but the airline's handling of the process was "careless and unfair," as Howard was not fully informed about the criteria that led to his selection. Ryanair argued that Howard had no contractual right to the bonus and that his redundancy was justified by pandemic business circumstances. The tribunal noted that the airline used objective criteria such as length of service, punctuality, attendance and performance, and that Howard's attendance record was cited as a factor.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Ryanair operations officer unfairly dismissed and punished, WRC finds. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• July 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 2020 Other
• June 2020 Other
• 2023-03-31 Publication

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report