The Labour Court overturned a €10,000 penalisation award to David Fleming on McDonald International Limited’s appeal. The Court determined the appeal on 22 April 2009 and said it lacked jurisdiction to decide the substance of the complaint; the merits were not decided.
Fleming alleged that the company dismissed him after his solicitor served a personal-injury damages claim following a workplace accident. The company accepted that he was dismissed because he began legal action, said it immediately reinstated him, and argued the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act did not cover the situation.
The Court said Fleming had not acted in a way covered by section 27(3), and that the statute did not cover the damages claim. It also noted that unfair-dismissal law provided separate protection for proposed civil proceedings.