The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Mary Lane €18,000 after finding that Bridge St. Pharmacy Limited unfairly dismissed her. In a decision dated 27 January 2023, the WRC also partly upheld her wages complaint and directed the pharmacy to pay €430.63 for an unlawful deduction.
Lane had worked as a sales and counter assistant. The pharmacy said it dismissed her for gross misconduct after disputes about restoring her working hours. The adjudication officer found no evidence of gross misconduct and concluded the dismissal followed Lane’s efforts to restore her hours and a solicitor’s letter asserting her contractual rights. She was not given notice of the dismissal meeting or the right to representation, and the decision to dismiss had already been made.
The €18,000 compensation covered actual, ongoing and future loss. The wages award related to a two-week period in March 2022, after pandemic restrictions had ended and the officer found there was no longer justification for keeping Lane on reduced hours. She had also claimed unpaid annual leave and minimum notice pay, but withdrew those parts of her wages claim.