The Workplace Relations Commission found that Boston Scientific Ltd unfairly dismissed Paul Sheehan and ordered the company to re-engage him permanently. In a decision dated 20 April 2023, it also ordered €468.32 in compensation for a minimum notice breach and recorded that €351 was owed for public holiday entitlement.
Sheehan said he was dismissed without warning or a fair disciplinary process after the company questioned his absences from his work area. Boston Scientific said he had left without authorisation and that his dismissal for gross misconduct was justified. The WRC found serious procedural failures, an incomplete investigation and no substantial grounds for dismissal. It said the dismissal was disproportionate, while also finding that Sheehan contributed to it by leaving his work base for long periods.
The re-engagement order took effect from 24 April 2022 and included conditions such as medical clearance and repayment of the 17 absences. The decision also found two payment of wages complaints not well founded. It ordered re-engagement as the remedy for unfair dismissal, without specifying monetary compensation for that complaint.