The Workplace Relations Commission directed care-services employer Komfort Kare to pay HR manager Dean Hart €7,000 after finding it wrongly refused two days of force majeure leave. The decision, dated 18 July 2024, concerned leave Hart sought after his wife experienced pregnancy loss.
Hart left work on 21 May 2024 to accompany his wife to hospital. The employer approved leave for part of that day but refused it for the following two days, arguing force majeure leave could not be taken consecutively and seeking hospital documentation.
The officer found Hart’s wife remained ill and needed his immediate presence, and that the employer had misapplied the law. Force majeure leave is paid leave for urgent family reasons when an employee’s presence is indispensable. The officer considered the request for detailed care-plan information inappropriate.
The officer said the refusal damaged the employment relationship and caused Hart significant upset. He directed the employer to pay €7,000 compensation; the decision identified €13,425 as the maximum available under the Act.