Richard Byrne has been awarded €14,300 after the Workplace Relations Commission found he was unfairly dismissed when his employer placed him on unpaid lay-off. The WRC decision was dated 29 November 2023.
Byrne worked as a bathroom installer for Divinity Tile And Bathrooms. He said he was told in April 2022 that he was suspended indefinitely, without pay and with immediate effect. The company said a downturn in work led it to lay off two fitters on a last-in, first-out basis.
The adjudication officer found Byrne had been dismissed on 22 April 2022, when the company purported to lay him off. There was no contractual term allowing unpaid lay-off, and the company had not obtained his consent. The officer found the company intended to dismiss him and had no substantial grounds for doing so.
The WRC ordered the company to pay €14,300 compensation. Byrne had earned €550 a week. The officer made no compensation award for May 2022 because Byrne made no effort to reduce his loss that month; he later worked to establish a family business.