The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Club Limited to pay Bernadette Walsh €21,843 for unfair dismissal. The decision, dated 20 May 2022, also awarded €750 for an annual leave breach, €300 each for daily rest and breaks breaches, and €615.30 for a late statement of employment terms.
Walsh worked at the hotel, a family business owned by her brother, and became its general manager. She said she worked long hours, missed leave and rest entitlements, lacked a proper statement of terms and was dismissed after seeking a pay increase. The respondent accepted that her dismissal was unfair and procedurally deficient.
The adjudication officer found the dismissal unfair and said fair procedures and natural justice had not been followed. The decision awarded €21,843, representing 71 weeks’ loss. The officer also found that the hotel had not established Walsh received all her public holiday and annual leave entitlements, that she missed statutory breaks and daily rest, and that she received her terms and handbook only months after starting work.
The maximum-hours complaint and Sunday-pay complaint were not well founded. Three complaints were withdrawn: two under the National Minimum Wage Act and one under the Criminal Justice Act. The decision also awarded €750 for the annual leave breach, €300 for each rest breach and €615.30 for the terms breach.