The Labour Court varied an unfair dismissal award to Catherine McDowell to €25,000 after St John Of God Hospital Limited appealed an adjudication officer’s €15,000 award. The Court dated its determination 21 June 2022.
McDowell said the hospital stopped offering her work after a dispute involving her daughter’s presence on its premises. The hospital said she remained a relief employee and had not been dismissed.
The Court found she was dismissed in early March 2020 because she received no further work while work was assigned to another employee. It concluded the dismissal was unfair because the hospital had not advanced substantial reasons to justify it.
The Court accepted that McDowell had suffered €55,000 in financial loss. It found she had not made adequate efforts to find work after securing a lower-paid job in October 2020, and applied a 55% reduction when setting compensation at €25,000.