Courts / Offaly / Report

GP facing €40k payment after receptionist with almost 50 years service got 'no response' over closure

Summary

A local doctor, Dr Declan Scanlon, is ordered to pay a €40,000 severance to Margaret Dunne, a receptionist who worked at his Tullamore surgery for almost 50 years. Dunne began in March 1973 and worked continuously until the Covid‑19 pandemic forced her to stay home in March 2020. She tried to return in July 2021 but received no response from Scanlon, who had planned to close the practice in October 2022. Dunne applied for a redundancy payment after the closure and again got no reply or a redundancy certificate. The Workplace Relations Commission upheld her complaint under the Redundancy Payments Act 1967, ruling that her long service and weekly pay entitled her to the statutory redundancy sum. The calculation of the lump sum will be handled by the Department of Social Protection.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: GP facing €40k payment after receptionist with almost 50 years service got 'no response' over closure. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• March 1973 Other
• March 2020 Other
• July 2021 Other
• October 2022 Other
• April 1973 Other
• 2024-07-10 Publication

Why: However, she explained that she had no success when she started trying to return to the workplace in July 2021 as Dr Scanlon failed to "engage" with her. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

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Read the original CNI report