The Workplace Relations Commission found Yvonne Foley was unfairly dismissed by Irish Distillers International Ltd. and awarded her €35,000 in compensation. The decision was dated 21 June 2023.
Foley’s complaint was that the company failed to consider her circumstances and alternatives to dismissal. The company said it dismissed her for gross misconduct, citing attendance and conduct issues and a final written warning it considered to be active.
The adjudication officer found the March 2019 warning was only a written warning under the company’s own policy, not a final written warning. Because the company relied on a warning that was not in force, the officer found the dismissal procedurally unfair and, as a result, substantively unfair. The officer did not accept Foley’s argument that the company should have made greater allowance for her anxiety and substance misuse, noting she had been certified fit to work.