The WRC recommended that an employer pay a probationary worker €2,500 after finding that the way it ended his employment showed appalling discourtesy and disrespect. The recommendation was made by Adjudication Officer Pat Brady in a decision dated 24 July 2023.
The worker said he was summoned to a meeting without being told its purpose, was not given an opportunity for representation and was escorted from the building afterwards. The employer said the termination was performance-related: although his work was improving, it was not good enough to continue his probation.
The officer accepted there had been serious underperformance and that this could justify ending the probation. But the worker had not been told his continued employment was at risk. The officer described the meeting and the worker being marched off the premises as an unacceptable way to treat any worker.
The €2,500 recommendation was compensation for a breach of the worker’s rights, not for lost wages. The officer noted that he had found another job a couple of months after his dismissal.