Zest At Limited ordered to pay Ann Marie Smullen €24,082 for unfair dismissal

The Workplace Relations Commission found that Zest At Limited unfairly dismissed Ann Marie Smullen and ordered it to pay her €24,082 compensation. The decision was dated 16 January 2024. A separate redundancy complaint was withdrawn. Smullen said the company dismissed her after offering her a temporary role in a different bakery. Zest At Limited argued that she had resigned by declining the role. The adjudication officer found that Smullen had not used clear words of resignation and that the company had not clarified her intentions before ending her employment. The officer found the dismissal both substantively and procedurally unfair. In assessing compensation, the officer considered income from Smullen's cake business and found she had made limited efforts to mitigate her loss.