The Workplace Relations Commission found Terence Slattery’s unfair dismissal complaint against the Health Services Executive was not well founded, but upheld his separate claim for eight weeks’ basic pay in lieu of notice. The decision was dated 30 May 2023.
Slattery worked as a theatre porter at Limerick University Hospital from 1999. The HSE dismissed him after repeated attendance problems, and he argued the process was unfair, including because he was not heard at the final disciplinary meeting. The HSE said it had addressed his attendance through warnings and disciplinary steps.
The adjudication officer found the HSE’s decision reasonable in light of Slattery’s attendance record and found the process fair. The unfair dismissal complaint therefore failed. The HSE accepted that Slattery was entitled to eight weeks’ basic pay in lieu of notice based on his service; the decision does not state a monetary figure. In plain terms, notice pay compensates an employee who is dismissed without the notice due to them.