WRC declines to hear apprentice’s unfair dismissal complaint

The Workplace Relations Commission had no jurisdiction to hear Darren Mulvaney’s unfair dismissal complaint against H. Shiels Limited, Adjudication Officer Eileen Campbell decided in a ruling dated 15 April 2025. Mulvaney argued that his dismissal was unfair and that the company had not followed a fair process. The company said his 208-week apprenticeship began with SOLAS registration and ended lawfully because he had not completed it. The officer found that the statutory apprenticeship began when SOLAS approved registration and that the dismissal fell within one month of its completion, so the complaint could not be heard.