The Workplace Relations Commission found that Frank Doheny was unfairly dismissed after a redundancy process and ordered his former employer, B.R.C Mcmahon Reinforcements Limited, to pay him €27,775 in compensation. In a decision dated 8 December 2023, it also ordered the company to pay him an €8,660 bonus it had withheld.
The company said Doheny’s environmental, health and safety manager role was redundant after a review, with its duties to be absorbed by other roles. The adjudication officer found the company provided insufficient evidence to explain why Doheny was selected, did not follow its contractual redundancy selection procedure and had not adequately considered alternatives. The officer also found that the contract did not make bonus entitlement conditional on remaining employed until the payment date.
The €27,775 compensation was approximately 17 weeks’ pay. The officer took into account that Doheny’s attempts to find work were insufficient to mitigate his loss. The bonus award followed a finding that it was unreasonable for the company not to pay the accrued bonus.