The Workplace Relations Commission recommended that an employer pay €15,000 to an office manager dismissed after her pay was reduced. The recommendation was dated 24 January 2023 and followed an industrial relations dispute brought by a worker with less than one year’s service.
The employer accepted that the termination had not been handled particularly well and that money remained due. The adjudicator found the worker’s pay had been reduced from the agreed €50,000 gross annual rate to €40,000 without a satisfactory reason or advance notice. She was dismissed by letter on 6 October 2021, without prior performance concerns, an opportunity to appeal or four weeks’ notice or pay in lieu.
The adjudicator assessed notice pay at €3,844, annual leave at €961 and lost pay at about €1,000. She recommended €15,000 within six weeks of the decision. She also noted that the worker had limited her job search to software-development roles near home, restricting the opportunities available to her.