Courts / Cork / Report

Cleaning supervisor left jobless when new contractor took over Pepsi contract wins €22k

Date
2026-03-16
Stage
Hearing Or Decision
Primary locality
Carrigaline
County
Cork

Summary

Edel Kelly won €22,315 in compensation after the Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Bidvest Noonan (ROI) Ltd breached her employment rights. Ms Kelly, a cleaning supervisor at the Pepsi concentrate plant in Carrigaline, Co Cork, was left jobless in July 2025 when she did not transfer to the new contractor. She had been site-banned by Pepsi management in April 2025 following a dispute over a factory audit. In separate proceedings, Ms Kelly alleged that PepsiCo's Irish arm and Portfolio Concentrate Solutions UC effected a "third-party dismissal" via the site ban. PepsiCo argued she lacked standing as she was not their employee. Adjudicator Tom O'Driscoll rejected Bidvest Noonan's argument that the site ban excluded her from the transfer of undertakings. Citing EU law, he found that her employment relationship existed at the date of transfer, and her rights could not be defeated by operational imperatives. He determined that Ms Kelly was dismissed due to the contract change without consultation, breaching Regulation 10 of the European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003. The award comprised seven months' pay for dismissal and four weeks' pay for failure to consult. The report details the adjudication and final award, with no adjournments recorded for the validated hearing stage.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Cleaning supervisor left jobless when new contractor took over Pepsi contract wins €22k. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

Why: A supervisor who said she was caught between PepsiCo and its former cleaning contractor in a dispute over a factory audit has won €22,000 for rights breaches after the new service provider failed to give her work because she had been banned from site. CNI source report

Case subjects

PepsiCo's Irish

Applicant

Portfolio Concentrate Solutions Uc

Applicant

Places mentioned

Secondary Mention

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

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