The Workplace Relations Commission found Conor Hynes was unfairly dismissed by Heneghan Premier Services Limited and awarded him €24,840, less any redundancy payment he received. Adjudication Officer Peter O'Brien dated the decision 27 April 2022.
Hynes said the company used redundancy to conceal the real reason for his dismissal, which he linked to concerns he had raised about protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The WRC deemed the safety information he gave his employer to be a protected disclosure. It did not make a finding that the dismissal was in response to that disclosure.
The company did not provide evidence showing that the dismissal was fair. Its proposed redundancy timeline was excluded because the manager whose statements it contained was not available to give evidence and be questioned. With no defence evidence, the adjudicator found the company had not discharged its burden of proof and treated the termination as an unfair dismissal.
Hynes sought compensation for lost earnings and a €72,000 plus VAT increase in building costs. The WRC excluded the building-cost claim because there was not enough evidence he had committed to starting construction before the dismissal. It also found he had no ongoing loss in his new job, where he earned more, and awarded €24,840 as compensation for the dismissal, less any redundancy payment.