WRC rejects redundancy complaint after four-day calculation exceeded entitlement

The Workplace Relations Commission found that Bridie Flannery and Maura McSharry, trading as Simones of Sligo, correctly calculated Fionnuala O’Donnell’s redundancy payment using a four-day week, which exceeded her entitlement. The decision, dated 21 September 2022, found her complaint was not well founded. O’Donnell argued that the payment should have been based on a five-day week because she had repeatedly objected to reduced hours and sought to return to full-time work. The employers said her hours varied and used a four-day basis, which was more than the average of three to four days she had worked. The WRC found her hours had varied, so the calculation properly used the average over the previous 52 weeks. The four-day basis was available to the employers and gave O’Donnell more than she was entitled to under the calculation. The complaint was rejected.