Labour Court raises Admir Ponari’s public holiday award to €1,500

The Labour Court increased compensation for Admir Ponari to €1,500 after finding Southwell Investments Company Ltd T/A Ned Kellys failed to provide his full public holiday entitlement. In a determination signed on 12 July 2012, the Court varied a Rights Commissioner’s €500 award. Ponari appealed the amount, while the employer said it had included public holidays in 25 days of annual leave and had corrected the practice. The Court found he received four fewer days than his entitlement in each of the 2009 and 2010 leave years and seven fewer days in 2011. It rejected his request to extend the time limit for earlier claims, finding no reasonable cause had been shown.