The Labour Court overturned a Rights Commissioner’s decision and awarded Mr Michael O Riordan €5,000 after finding Stobart (Ireland) Driver Services Ltd breached working-time and penalisation rules. The determination was signed on 28 November 2012.
O Riordan said the company called him in to start work early without 24 hours’ notice and later disciplined him for refusing to attend. Stobart argued that an unforeseen business situation justified the short notice and that it could use its disciplinary procedure.
The Court found Stobart had not established circumstances to justify requiring him to start early without 24 hours’ notice. It also found he was entitled to protection against penalisation for refusing to cooperate with a breach of the Act. The Court ordered Stobart to rescind any sanction, remove references to it from his personnel record, pay €5,000 compensation and comply with the Act’s staff scheduling rules.