The WRC awarded a service adviser €17,935 after finding she was constructively dismissed when her employer failed to address sustained overwork and understaffing. Adjudication officer Kevin Baneham dated the decision 27 October 2017.
The worker said she had repeatedly raised the extra duties and asked for more staff support over 15 months. The car retailer disputed her account and argued she had not exhausted its grievance process. The officer found she had complied with that procedure: it did not require a written grievance and gave no clear way to escalate one.
The officer found that the employer knew the issues were understaffing and overwork, but its response did not address them. He found breaches of the implied terms of a safe workplace and mutual trust and confidence, and concluded the unfair dismissal complaint was well founded. The award covered 28 weeks of financial loss before the worker found new employment.