The Labour Court allowed John Walsh’s appeal and set aside the Adjudication Officer’s decision, directing Roadbridge Civil Engineering & Building Contractors Roadbridge Ltd to pay him a balance of €7,354.47, subject to any necessary recalculation for currency fluctuation. The determination was dated 14 August 2023.
Walsh had worked for Roadbridge since 2002 and was transferred to a UK site in May 2021. After the company entered receivership, he was made redundant in April 2022. He had received €17,701.53 in UK statutory redundancy pay for nearly 20 years’ service. He sought the balance of his Irish statutory entitlement, which the decision says would have been €24,456 in total.
The Court found Roadbridge had assured transferred employees that their entitlements would match those of staff in Ireland, and that this assurance formed part of Walsh’s contract. It also found the company should have instructed him to be in Ireland on the date of dismissal but did not give him a reasonable opportunity to do so. Irish redundancy law therefore applied, with the UK payment deducted from the entitlement. The Court was satisfied the respondent and receiver had been adequately notified of the hearing, though neither attended.