Labour Court recommends €15,000 for worker unfairly dismissed by Thurles Test Centre

The Labour Court recommended that Thurles Test Centre pay an unnamed worker €15,000 for unfair dismissal. The recommendation was signed on 11 October 2010. The worker had been employed as a senior vehicle tester and was dismissed in January 2009 after refusing a requested 30% salary cut. The employer, represented by Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Limited, said the dismissal was due to redundancy and that the worker’s selection was based on objective criteria. The worker said another tester was recruited shortly after his dismissal. The Court accepted that a redundancy situation existed, but found the dismissal took place without due consideration, consultation or proper procedures. The worker had no opportunity to discuss alternatives to redundancy, whether volunteers could be sought, performance concerns or part-time work that became available after his employment ended. The Court found him unfairly dismissed and recommended compensation of €15,000.