Labour Court upholds Denise Owens’s redundancy entitlement after employer appeal

The Labour Court rejected Summeridge Limited’s appeal and upheld Denise Owens’s entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment. The determination was signed on 7 January 2021. Summeridge said the closure of The Elms was temporary because it could not obtain insurance, and offered Owens work at the Harbour Master Bar in Dublin 1. Owens said the move would increase her travel time and costs and change her working pattern. The Court accepted that Summeridge reasonably believed the closure would not be permanent, but found Owens’s refusal reasonable because of the added commute, costs and changes to her work pattern. The payment was based on service from 15 January 2006, dismissal on 13 March 2019 and average weekly wages of €463.50.