Courts / Cork / Report

Seamstress treated 'shabbily' after 17 years at Cork shop wins €76k

Date
2026-07-06

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Cork City

County
Cork

Summary

Mary Kenneally, a seamstress who worked for 17 years at a Cork shop, has won over €76,000 in redress after being unfairly dismissed by her employer. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ruled that Carr Sewing Machines Limited had breached her employment rights by cutting her hours and forcing her out of her job. Kenneally, who was 67 years old, had been offered a full-time position elsewhere but was only given one day a week by the new employer. The tribunal found that the company had no mandatory retirement age and that Kenneally had been treated exceptionally poorly. The WRC awarded her €67,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal and additional sums for breaches of the Payment of Wages Act, the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, and the Organisation of Working Time Act. The case highlighted the employer's failure to provide proper working conditions and the impact of the dismissal on Kenneally's ability to find new employment.