The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Padraic Casserly €17,308.20 after finding he was unfairly dismissed by Tribal Restaurant Limited Tribeton. The award represented 20 weeks’ pay. In a decision dated 4 May 2022, the WRC also awarded him €692.33 for public holidays and €3,461.64 for four weeks’ notice.
Casserly, an executive chef, said the restaurant closed during Covid restrictions and that his employer did not tell him the status of his job after seeking permission to convert the premises to offices. The employer denied the claims in a written submission but did not attend the second hearing. The WRC found it was reasonable for Casserly to assume he had been dismissed after the employer failed to respond to his queries or revert as promised. When setting the unfair dismissal award, it took account of his limited efforts to find other work and the fact that he did not seek alternative employment until October 2020.
The WRC did not allow his redundancy appeal, finding he had provided no specific evidence that his position was redundant. It found it had no jurisdiction over a separate redundancy complaint, which was deemed not well founded; the merits were not decided. Casserly withdrew his annual leave complaint.