Labour Court halves worker’s voluntary redundancy award on Senaca Group appeal

The Labour Court reduced a €9,000 recommendation to €6,934.91 after finding both Senaca Group and a worker equally responsible for confusion over his voluntary redundancy application. The decision was signed on 9 January 2015. Business Mobile Security Limited T/A Senaca Group appealed the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation. The worker, represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, said he had told management he intended to apply but did not see the email asking him to confirm until after returning from holiday. The employer said he knew the deadline and applied too late, and that all timely applications had been accepted despite the scheme being oversubscribed. The Court substituted €6,934.91 for the €9,000 recommendation, setting the amount at half the redundancy payment the worker would have received had he applied on time.