The Workplace Relations Commission found Kevin Dowd was unfairly dismissed by Kalee Consulting Limited and awarded him €4,000 in compensation. The decision was dated 24 April 2023.
Dowd worked as a caretaker and was laid off during Covid-19 restrictions. He said he was dismissed without a fair process and argued that the company had not established a genuine redundancy. Kalee Consulting said trading difficulties had led to the redundancy.
The WRC found the company had not consulted Dowd or provided evidence to support the issues it raised. A similar role was advertised while he was laid off, undermining the claimed redundancy. It concluded that the dismissal was unfair in both substance and procedure. Compensation is money paid to address the losses caused by the dismissal; the WRC took account of Dowd’s efforts to find new work and the lack of supporting evidence about those efforts when setting the award.