The Labour Court upheld the finding that Strandvaus Limited unfairly dismissed HGV driver Sylwester Michalski and set his compensation at €9,600 on the employer’s appeal. The Court dated its determination 4 April 2022.
Michalski was summarily dismissed in November 2018 after two road incidents the previous month. Strandvaus said he had broken health and safety rules and committed gross misconduct. Michalski denied wrongdoing and said problems with interpretation support made it difficult to answer the allegations during the disciplinary process.
The Court found that the dismissal decision was heavily influenced by unverified concerns about possible consequences from the employer’s insurers. It said the incidents had not been shown to amount to the very serious misconduct needed to justify summary dismissal. It also found shortcomings in the process, including inadequate interpretation support and insufficient consideration of a lesser sanction. The Court upheld the unfair dismissal finding and set compensation at Michalski’s lost earnings from his dismissal until he started alternative work.