The Labour Court varied a decision in Mary Dunne’s favour on the Department Of Social Protection’s appeal, ordering her reinstatement and awarding her €5,000. The determination was signed on 19 April 2017. Dunne was deputy manager at the Department’s Edenderry branch office, which closed when its services moved into a new Intreo office.
The Department argued that no transfer of an undertaking had taken place because the branch’s services had been folded into a wider operation and no staff had transferred. Dunne argued that the services continued through the Intreo office and that her employment should transfer on no less favourable terms.
The Court found that the branch’s activities continued seamlessly through the Intreo office and that service users’ files and data enabled this. It determined that an undertaking transferred on or about 11 December 2015, entitling Dunne to transfer on no less favourable terms with her continuity of service preserved. The Court ordered her reinstatement from that date and awarded €5,000 in redress for the Department’s failure to comply with the regulations. The appeal varied the Adjudication Officer’s decision.