The Labour Court overturned an earlier ruling and found that Lenka Laiermanova was unfairly dismissed for her trade union activities, awarding her €7,924 in compensation. The determination was dated 18 February 2022.
Laiermanova, a head waiter at Troia (UK) Restaurants Limited, The Ivy, appealed after being dismissed in March 2019. She said her dismissal followed her union activity and efforts to address staff concerns about tips. The company said it dismissed her after she skipped a customer’s credit card gratuity prompt.
The Court found that a manager deliberately submitted a factually incorrect report about the incident, making the disciplinary process fatally flawed. It also found that other workers had skipped the gratuity prompt without being investigated or disciplined, while Laiermanova was treated differently. The Court concluded that the misconduct allegations hid the real reason for her dismissal: her union membership and activities.
A separate protected disclosure complaint was brought outside the statutory time limit; the merits were not decided. The €7,924 compensation covered losses through the end of 2019, including a period of unemployment and shortfalls in her subsequent earnings.