The Workplace Relations Commission found Kerry Sandwiches Limited T/a O'Brien's Irish Sandwich Bar discriminated against Emma O'Connor on the disability ground when it dismissed her, awarding her €3,120. The WRC also awarded her €480 for failure to provide statutory notice and €18.80 in minimum-wage arrears. Its decision was dated 17 May 2022.
O'Connor said she was dismissed after she could not increase her hours because of her disability, and the company would not retain her on reduced hours because it could not access a wage subsidy for earnings below €151.50 a week. The company said she chose to take Pandemic Unemployment Payment and denied dismissing her. The adjudication officer preferred O'Connor’s account, finding that a reduction in hours had not been offered because the company would not qualify for the subsidy below the earnings threshold.
The officer also accepted O'Connor’s account that her minimum-wage increase had not been applied because the company believed it would affect her disability benefit. The three complaints all succeeded: disability discrimination, failure to provide statutory notice, and unpaid minimum-wage arrears.