The High Court ordered Eircom Limited to pay Maria Cronin €87,354 after finding that it breached her secondment contract and later failed to provide her with appropriate work. The award covered commission and salary arrears, relocation expenses, and loss of a chance to advance her career.
In a judgment delivered on 25 October 2006, Miss Justice Laffoy found that Eircom had breached the secondment contract by ending Ms Cronin’s UK placement before its agreed term. She held that the contract’s optional third year was at Ms Cronin’s choice. On the evidence, she assessed the commission Ms Cronin would probably have earned at €45,531. A further €5,151 was awarded as salary arrears, a sum Eircom had conceded on an arbitrary basis. Together, those amounts came to €50,682.
The court also awarded €11,672 in special damages for relocation costs connected with the sale of a jointly owned home in England and the couple’s return to Ireland. The judge found the sale was a direct consequence of the premature termination of the secondments. The award was for Ms Cronin’s share of the agreed costs.
Ms Cronin had worked for Eircom and its predecessors since 1999. After returning from the UK in 2001, she received no suitable placement for several years. The judge found Eircom wholly responsible for failing to place her in an appropriate role in the two years before June 2003. She also found the company breached its contractual duty to provide work, whether under the express terms of the employment agreement or an implied term.
The court assessed that the failure to place Ms Cronin between May 2001 and February 2005 hindered her career progression and earning capacity. It awarded €25,000 for that loss of chance, estimating that her advancement to a position equivalent to account manager had been delayed by about two to three years. However, the judge found Ms Cronin was not contractually entitled to return from secondment as an account manager. The court refused her requested injunctions requiring or protecting such an appointment.
The judgment concerned damages while Ms Cronin remained employed by Eircom; it did not determine her employment or address voluntary departure. The court made no award of general damages, finding no supporting evidence, including no medical evidence that Eircom’s conduct caused injury to her health. The €87,354 total was based on gross figures, with any tax implications left to the parties.