Courts / Dublin / Report

Ukrainian truck driver made court history by giving evidence from 'active battlefield'

Summary

A Ukrainian truck driver, Ruslan Rybak, who was serving in the Ukrainian military during the hearing, gave evidence remotely from an active battlefield to the Workplace Relations Commission. He claimed unfair dismissal by Dublin haulier Noel Hughes on 1 July 2020 after a verbal dispute with a customer. Rybak said he had been under constant work pressure, sleeping in the truck for over a year, and had no proper breaks, sometimes working 100 hours non‑stop. Hughes argued Rybak left work abruptly to return to Ukraine and had been rehired each time. The adjudicator found the employment relationship irregular, awarding Rybak €2,000 under the Unfair Dismissals Act, €1,000 for breaches of working‑time legislation, and €500 in lieu of holiday pay, totaling €3,500. The case was noted as the first instance of witness evidence received from an active battlefield in WRC history.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Ukrainian truck driver made court history by giving evidence from 'active battlefield'. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• 1 July Other
• 2025-04-16 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

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Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report