The Workplace Relations Commission found Mount Falcon Hotel Company Limited constructively unfairly dismissed Patricia Strogen and ordered it to pay her €1,344 in compensation. The WRC decision was dated 21 June 2023. Constructive dismissal is when an employee resigns because the employer’s conduct leaves them with no reasonable option but to leave.
Strogen worked at the hotel from 2013 until she resigned in April 2022. She said disputes over her role and the handling of her grievances led her to feel she had no option but to leave. The hotel argued that her resignation did not meet the legal test. The WRC found it was reasonable for her to conclude she had no option but to resign.
The WRC also found Strogen had not adequately sought work after resigning: she applied for about six jobs in eight months. It limited her dismissal compensation to four weeks’ gross pay. In a separate complaint, it found the hotel had missed several Sunday premium payments and ordered €750 compensation. The hotel had already paid the monetary value of the missed premiums within the claim period.