The Labour Court upheld the decision rejecting Javier Fernandez Torres’s complaint that Sitting Tree Limited T/A Harbour Bar penalised him for trying to refer a working-hours dispute to Workplace Relations Commission conciliation. The Court dated its determination 28 November 2022.
Torres worked as a bartender during probation and was paid €12 an hour. He said the employer penalised him because he tried to raise his working-hours issue. The company said it ended his employment because he was not flexible about the days and hours he could work.
The Court said a penalisation claim required Torres to show that the alleged harm would not have happened but for his protected act. It accepted that he was available only on limited set days and hours, and that the company considered this unsuitable for the hospitality business. The Court found his termination was not penalisation under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act. Torres’s appeal failed and the adjudicator’s decision was upheld.