The Labour Court set aside a €2,000 award to Leanne O’Reilly after her appeal against Paradox Salon Limited T/A Noel Maher Hair Company failed. The determination was signed on 29 September 2021.
The Adjudication Officer had found O’Reilly constructively unfairly dismissed and awarded compensation. The Labour Court found she had not shown that her employer took prejudicial action because she sought the national minimum wage.
The Court said the employer’s text, considered alongside its confirmation that arrears were owed and would be paid, did not make O’Reilly’s termination unavoidable or undermine the central terms of the employment contract. As she had less than one year’s service, she could not maintain the unfair dismissal claim without establishing a breach of the National Minimum Wage Act. The Court found she was not unfairly dismissed and set aside the Adjudication Officer’s decision.