The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Sean Fitzgerald €11,000 after finding that Wallace Myers International unfairly dismissed him. The decision was dated 3 February 2022.
Fitzgerald had worked for the recruitment company since April 2019 and was dismissed in June 2020 during the pandemic. He challenged the redundancy process and said the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme had led to unlawful wage deductions. The company said it applied the scheme under Government guidelines and restructured to cut costs as business declined.
The adjudicator found that the company had not adequately explained its last-in-first-out selection process and that consultation was unfair. She also noted that lay-off remained available. Fitzgerald found alternative work 13 weeks after his dismissal, and the €11,000 award covered lost remuneration.
His separate Payment of Wages complaint was not well founded. The adjudicator found he understood how the subsidy was applied and accepted that the amount of work had declined.