High Court delivers judgment in redundancy payment challenge

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

The High Court delivered an approved judgment in Nilton de Morais’s challenge to the refusal of a State redundancy payment on 20 March 2026. The judgment was delivered by Barr J.

De Morais worked for Advertising Pens Ltd from 2012 until he was made redundant in October 2021. After the company became insolvent, he applied for a payment under the Redundancy Payment Scheme. His application was refused on the basis that he could not be considered to have been in insurable employment because he did not have a valid work permit during the relevant period.

FLAC, which represented him, said his salary had been subject to normal income tax and social insurance deductions during his employment. De Morais argued that the legislation excluding him from the payment was inconsistent with EU rules protecting employees when an employer becomes insolvent.

He sought orders quashing the refusal and requiring his application to be reconsidered. Since his redundancy, his residency and entitlement to work have been regularised following a successful application under the Long Term Undocumented Migrant Scheme.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.