Labour Court upholds finding against Pippa Ni Chonarain in penalisation appeal

The Labour Court upheld the finding that Pippa Ni Chonarain’s penalisation complaint against Applegreen was not well founded, in a determination dated 1 November 2023. The ruling left in place the adjudication officer’s decision. Ni Chonarain said she was dismissed after reporting that a colleague had physically pushed and verbally abused her at work. Applegreen said she was dismissed during probation because of underperformance, including failing to complete online training. The Court accepted that she had made a health and safety complaint and suffered a detriment when her employment ended. It found her incomplete training and declining performance during probation caused the dismissal, rather than the complaint. The Court said the separate allegation that Applegreen failed to investigate the incident thoroughly fell outside its jurisdiction under the Act.