Employer’s appeal cuts Fergal McGrath’s unfair dismissal award to €8,800

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

The Labour Court reduced Fergal McGrath’s unfair dismissal award from €18,000 to €8,800 following an appeal by his former employer. The proceedings were reported on 20 January 2026.

Kashan Carpets, trading as Lynfrae Trading, appealed a Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officer’s finding that Mr McGrath had been unfairly dismissed. The company accepted that the dismissal process was flawed but argued that his behaviour meant the dismissal could not be regarded as unfair.

The court was told that a company credit card issued to Mr McGrath had been used more than 30 times in his local pub between August 2022 and May 2023, including purchases at weekends or over Christmas when he was not working. Managing director Ralph Hance also reported cash withdrawals and payments for cigarettes and lotto tickets.

Mr McGrath denied buying alcohol with the card and said some transactions were for lunches. He said he had received no proper guidance on its use or prior warning about improper spending. If he had bought cigarettes or lotto tickets, he said, it was an honest mistake and he would have refunded the money.

Mr Hance said a company van driven by Mr McGrath had suffered damage requiring more than €7,000 in repairs and that Mr McGrath could not explain it. Mr McGrath said he noticed the damage while driving and suggested someone might have reversed into the van during an earlier stop. The court described his evidence about the van as lacking credibility.

The court found the dismissal on 16 June 2023 was unfair: Mr McGrath received no advance notice of the process or right of appeal, no notes were taken, and the person who made the charges also decided to dismiss him.

The court assessed his losses at €40,000 after a year unemployed, but found little or no evidence that he had tried to find another job during that period. It reduced the losses by 30 per cent for lack of mitigation and 48 per cent for his contribution to the dismissal, awarding €8,800.