James Spencer awarded €31,558 for unfair dismissal

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

James Spencer was awarded €31,558 by the Workplace Relations Commission for unfair dismissal, reported on 15 May 2022.

The award represented 18 months’ salary after his employer imposed a retirement age of 66. The employer said it had a retirement age of 66 and that the change protected older employees during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adjudication officer Brian Dalton found the retirement-policy change unilateral and unreasonable, and held that James Spencer was unfairly dismissed on age grounds. A separate Employment Equality Act claim was not compensated because the same circumstances could not support compensation twice.