Darragh O’Farrell awarded €45,000 for unfair dismissal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Darragh O’Farrell was awarded €45,000 by a Workplace Relations Commission adjudicator after his complaint that Campbell Catering Limited, trading as Aramark Ireland, unfairly dismissed him. The proceedings were reported on 10 June 2022.

The respondent said the business had collapsed during the Covid-19 pandemic and that O’Farrell held a standalone senior role. O’Farrell accepted the respondent’s account of the facts but argued that he could have remained on lay-off, with no financial loss to the company, and that he had not received enough information about the proposed redundancy.

The adjudicator found that his contractual flexibility and skills meant he had potential roles across the business, and that the redundancy process had been completed too quickly in the circumstances. The award was made in addition to the statutory redundancy payment he had already received, with a further €821 awarded for five days’ annual leave.