The Workplace Relations Commission found Peter Smith was unfairly dismissed by McQuaid O'Flanagan Warehousing & Transport Limited and ordered the company to pay him €8,112 compensation. The decision was dated 27 April 2023.
Smith worked as a mechanic for the company from 2014 until it ended his employment on 2 April 2020. He said he was dismissed because of his age and did not know of a retirement age. The company argued he had reached its contractual retirement age of 66 and that the WRC lacked jurisdiction.
The WRC found the company had not established a normal retirement age for workers in similar jobs. Its employment documents referred to retirement ages of both 65 and 66, and the company had no examples of other full-time workers retiring at 66. The WRC therefore found it had jurisdiction to hear the case.
The WRC found the dismissal unfair, noting the company had not identified substantial grounds to justify ending Smith’s employment. He had no loss of earnings because he declined further work, but the WRC found he lost a potential statutory redundancy payment. The €8,112 compensation reflected that loss. It found he made no contribution to his dismissal.