The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Michelle Collins €20,000 after finding she was unfairly dismissed by Tile & Wood Factory Outlet (Limerick) Limited. The decision was dated 3 May 2023.
The company argued Collins was a director rather than an employee, and therefore could not bring an unfair dismissal claim. The WRC found she worked under a contract of service: she was rostered, paid a set wage, subject to significant control and carried out work integral to the company’s business.
Collins said she had been dismissed without proper procedures. The WRC found the company had not followed procedures before dismissing her and upheld her complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. In plain terms, it found the dismissal was unfair because the company did not follow a fair process.
The compensation took account of Collins’s inadequate efforts to find other work. At the hearing, she had not found alternative employment and said she had made about four job applications. The WRC considered those efforts when setting the award.