Labour Court upholds finding against Breda Kelleher

The Labour Court upheld a finding that Mrs Breda Kelleher’s penalisation complaint against Lxv Remedies Holdings Limited T/A Sam Mccauley Chemists was not well founded. The decision was dated 20 December 2023. Kelleher said she was penalised after raising safety concerns about working at the Midleton pharmacy with a colleague she had previously accused of bullying. She argued that the employer broke an agreement to keep them apart and that its actions led her to resign. The employer said it had no record of the agreement and proposed different shifts or days to reduce their contact. The Court found that Kelleher’s safety concerns were a protected act, but that the employer acted reasonably in proposing work arrangements. It found that her pay stopped because she did not attend work, and found no basis for her claims of denial of due process, coercion, intimidation or constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal is when an employee resigns because of the employer’s conduct.