WRC recommends freezing advisor’s ex-gratia payment until MEP loses seat

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

The Workplace Relations Commission has recommended that an unidentified parliamentary advisor’s enhanced redundancy payment be frozen and paid only if the politician they advised loses their seat in the European Parliament. The recommendation, made by adjudicator Breiffni O'Neill, was non-binding and concerned an industrial dispute raised against a government department under the Industrial Relations Act 1969.

The advisor’s Leinster House job was made redundant in 2024 after the politician was elected to another parliament outside the Republic of Ireland. The advisor received statutory redundancy but not the additional ex-gratia sum and went with the politician to the new parliamentary office. Peter Glynn of Siptu argued the worker should not be treated less favourably, while the State said the payment was discretionary and inappropriate because the advisor remained employed without loss of earnings.

If the advisor later worked for another Irish politician, the payment would have to be waived. If the politician was re-elected to the Oireachtas, the accrued payment should be unfrozen and added to any future enhanced redundancy payment. The proceedings were reported on 13 March 2026.