The Workplace Relations Commission found Kathryn O’Boyle was unfairly dismissed by Temperature Controlled Pharmaceuticals Limited and awarded her €15,000 compensation. The decision was dated 22 April 2022.
O’Boyle worked as a client relationship manager. She said she understood she would return to part-time work after covering a full-time post, but the company ended her employment on 30 October 2020 and said her role would be done by a nurse. The company argued at the hearing that the dismissal was a redundancy, although it had not relied on that reason when dismissing her.
The adjudicator accepted that O’Boyle had a verbal agreement to continue part-time, supported by an email confirming her return to those hours. The agreement had no end date. The company had not raised redundancy with her before dismissal, and no dismissal procedures were followed.
The award was based on the €30,000 salary and €8,000 car allowance she would have received, with losses counted after her full pay on notice ended. The adjudicator also considered her efforts to find work, the effect of Covid and the company’s procedural failures when setting compensation.