The Workplace Relations Commission ordered a hotel to re-engage a kitchen porter after finding his dismissal unfair. The decision, dated 30 March 2017, required re-engagement for the remainder of the 2016 season and from the opening of the 2017 season on his previous terms and conditions.
The porter said he thought he was signing annual leave forms, then learned while away that the hotel had issued him a P45. A hotel said he had chosen to leave and had been offered his job back. The adjudicator found he had not understood the cessation form and that its reference to “no notice” was inconsistent with his contract.
The adjudicator found a serious shortfall in the employer’s handling of the dismissal. The porter sought compensation, but the WRC ordered re-engagement after finding that a hotel had made a genuine offer of re-employment and that his job search had been comprehensive and unsuccessful to that point.