WRC rejects Joanne County’s constructive dismissal complaint

The Workplace Relations Commission found Joanne County had not proved that Viatel Ireland Limited constructively dismissed her. The decision was dated 12 August 2024. No compensation award was recorded. County worked for Sungard Availability Services (Ireland) Limited before Viatel acquired the business. Her employment transferred to Viatel in July 2023. She said her role became unclear and administrative, leaving her feeling unwanted and overwhelmed; she resigned in August. Viatel said she resigned voluntarily to take another job, which she started a week later, and that it had discussed roles for her in its finance department. The adjudicator found Viatel had engaged with County about her role and found no evidence of a contractual breach or redundancy. Constructive dismissal means an employee resigns because the employer’s conduct leaves no reasonable alternative. The adjudicator also found County had not used the internal grievance process or given Viatel an opportunity to address her concerns before resigning. The complaint was not well-founded.