The Labour Court dismissed Joseph Dunne’s redundancy appeal because he had not established that he was an employee of Associated Newspapers Ireland T/A DMG Media Ireland. The Court determined the appeal on 26 October 2022, finding that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the claim’s substance; the merits were not decided.
Dunne argued that the newspaper controlled his assignments and roster and required him to set up a company to invoice for his work. The newspaper said its contract was with Joe Dunne Photography Limited, which employed him and paid his salary.
The Court found that placing the limited company between Dunne and the newspaper undermined his claim that he was the newspaper’s employee. The case concerned whether he could pursue a redundancy payment claim under the Redundancy Payments Acts. The Court did not decide whether he was entitled to redundancy pay.