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Electrician who walked off Children's Hospital site in pay row wins constructive dismissal claim

Summary

Ian Church, an electrician at HPL Engineering Services, claimed constructive dismissal after his hourly rate of €33.03 was cut by €7 to €25.72. He said he had repeatedly asked for the pay issue to be resolved and that a supervisor had told him he could be replaced by an apprentice. Church walked off the National Children's Hospital site on 31 March 2023, stating he would not work for the reduced rate. He had not formally resigned but had communicated his intent to leave. The Workplace Relations Commission found that Church had made numerous enquiries about the pay issue and that HPL had taken weeks to address it. The tribunal awarded him €5,750 under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 and dismissed further wage claims. The case remains at the constructive dismissal stage.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Electrician who walked off Children's Hospital site in pay row wins constructive dismissal claim. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• March 2020 Other
• 31 March 2023 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 2023 Other
• 2025-02-20 Publication

Why: However, she wrote that Mr Church "contributed somewhat to his situation" because of his "lack of cooperation" on the travel documents required to despatch him to the site in Sweden. CNI source report

Case subjects

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Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report