The Labour Court affirmed an €80,000 unfair-dismissal award to Brian Mc Caffrey on his appeal against Daifuku American Corporation. The determination was dated 3 April 2017. The award was in addition to €28,500 already paid to Mc Caffrey as a redundancy payment.
Daifuku said Mc Caffrey’s role had become redundant after it sought a return to five-day working with on-call cover. Mc Caffrey said he was willing to work five days but wanted a more manageable on-call arrangement. The Court found the four-day role with substantial on-call duties that he had performed was not redundant. It also found Daifuku had not adequately explored alternatives to dismissal, including offering him another role or arranging alternative on-call cover.
The Adjudication Officer had already found unfair dismissal and awarded €80,000. Mc Caffrey’s appeal sought reinstatement or greater compensation, but the Labour Court affirmed the award. It considered compensation for financial loss appropriate after Daifuku said trust and confidence had broken down.