The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Claire Humphreys €16,794 after finding that Gilford Montessori School Ltd Gilford Montessori & Afterschool unfairly dismissed her. Adjudication Officer Brian Dalton dated the decision 3 November 2021.
Humphreys had worked as an after-school manager. The school argued she had resigned after seeking other work while laid off during the pandemic. Dalton found that the employer had ended her employment, and that she had not resigned. She had been sick and was not eligible for the temporary wage subsidy; the school had told her that taking another job meant she would have to leave its payroll.
The decision also found reasonable cause for her late complaint, citing the pandemic circumstances, her ineligibility for the subsidy and the employer’s misrepresentation about taking another job. Dalton found that the school had not shown substantial grounds justifying the dismissal. The award included €8,294 for actual loss, including four weeks’ notice, and €8,500 for prospective loss linked to diminished future redundancy rights.