Labour Court reduces Noura Aboutabit’s award to €1,590 on employer’s appeal

The Labour Court reduced Noura Aboutabit’s €5,250 award to €1,590 after G & C Takeaway Limited T/A Manor Takeaway appealed. In its determination dated 6 November 2014, the Court upheld the employer’s appeal on the time limit but found that unpaid annual leave and a public holiday remained due. Aboutabit said her close relationship with the takeaway’s owners, including having lived with them, explained the delay. The Court found that relationship had broken down in 2010, when she asked about her holiday entitlements and was denied them, leaving her time to seek help and bring a claim. The Court found no reasonable cause to extend the time limit. It limited the claim to the statutory periods and found 12.45 days of unpaid annual leave worth €1,120.50 and one unpaid public holiday worth €90 remained due. It set compensation for the annual leave breach at €1,500, including compensation for the loss and an amount intended to deter future breaches, and awarded €90 for the public holiday breach. The employer had accepted liability for the amounts due within the ordinary time limit.