WRC awards former executive €180,000 for unfair dismissal

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

The Workplace Relations Commission awarded David Haran €180,000 after finding that Hed Unity Limited unfairly dismissed him. Adjudication officer Michael MacNamee said the company did not attend the hearing or provide evidence to justify the dismissal.

Haran was dismissed by video call on April 14th, 2022, while on sick leave, after nearly a year as the company’s chief of staff. His contract provided for three months’ notice; the adjudication officer found an unexplained €20,000 payment did not extinguish that entitlement and treated his effective dismissal date as falling in July 2022.

The WRC heard Haran was unable to find alternative work until September 2022, when he took a role paying €85,000 a year, below his previous €160,000 salary. It calculated weekly losses of €1,442 and cumulative losses exceeding €252,000, but set compensation at €180,000, taking account of the apparent cessation of the employer’s trading and the possibility that his former pay would not have continued.