The Workplace Relations Commission found Barbara Moore was unfairly dismissed by Horan and Son Solicitors LLP and awarded her €1,950 in compensation. In a decision dated 23 August 2023, adjudication officer Janet Hughes also awarded €225 for unpaid annual leave and €300 for failure to provide a statement of core employment terms.
Moore worked three hours a week as a cleaner and said she had received no annual leave pay in her final year. The firm argued she did not qualify for public holiday pay and disputed her account of events leading to dismissal. The officer agreed she was not entitled to public holiday pay, but upheld her annual leave complaint after finding the firm had no records of paid leave.
The officer said serious failures in the dismissal process made the dismissal unfair. She also found Moore’s conduct on 26 October 2022 contributed to the dismissal decision and considered it when assessing compensation. Moore’s full-terms complaint was upheld, but its compensation was superseded by the €300 award for the core-terms complaint. Her equality complaint was withdrawn. The remaining complaints, including those concerning protected disclosures, redundancy and wages, were not well founded.