The Workplace Relations Commission found that Joanne Fitzpatrick was not unfairly dismissed after she resigned from Apple Distribution International Ltd. The decision, dated 30 August 2023, concerned her claim that the company’s conduct forced her to leave.
Fitzpatrick said Apple withdrew an 11-month temporary Team Manager assignment after she had been told she could accept it. She also challenged an incomplete annual performance review and delays in handling her grievance. Apple said she resigned without exhausting the grievance process or giving it time to implement the investigation’s recommendations.
The adjudicator found the withdrawn offer and incomplete review were careless and unfair, but did not amount to serious breaches of the employment contract that justified her resignation. The decision also noted that Fitzpatrick had not completed the grievance process and had not told Apple she had started another job while receiving sick pay from the company. The complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 was found not well founded.