The Workplace Relations Commission awarded engineer Shubham Sotwal €8,000 after finding Geraghty Energy Consultants Limited unfairly dismissed him during a fixed-term contract. The decision was dated 1 February 2023. A separate working-time complaint was not well-founded.
Sotwal’s contract was due to run until December 2020, but the company ended his employment in March 2020 as work and income declined during the Covid shutdown. He said he was let go without notice or compensation and was owed wages, overtime and holiday pay. The company said it had no work and believed termination was the right course.
The adjudicator found the company could have used short-time working or lay-off, and had no contractual right to end the contract early in these circumstances. The summary dismissal was unreasonable and unfair, with a harsh consequence for Sotwal.
The officer assessed financial loss at three months, taking account of the time left on the contract and the likelihood that Sotwal would not have worked full time during lockdown. The €8,000 compensation included his notice entitlement. His working-time complaint failed because he had not set it out in sufficient detail and the company’s records rebutted his allegations.