The Workplace Relations Commission found James Spencer was unfairly dismissed on the ground of age and awarded him €31,558 compensation. It found his separate age discrimination complaint was not well founded because it repeated the dismissal claim and a further award would mean double compensation. The decision was dated 22 April 2022.
Spencer had worked for Heavey Technology - Quality Labels since 2010 and was dismissed in July 2020, aged 68. He said the company had no mandatory retirement age in practice. The company said its retirement policy was linked to state pension age and that it acted to protect older staff during the pandemic.
The WRC found the company had no mandatory retirement age before it announced a policy change in June 2020, and had changed Spencer’s terms without his agreement. It also found the manager who assessed his vulnerability was not medically qualified. The WRC assessed his loss at 78 weeks, or 18 months, using his gross annual salary of €21,039.