The Labour Court found Martina Collins Condon was unfairly dismissed by Bishopsisland Plant Hire & Groundworks Ltd and varied the decision under appeal, directing the employer to pay €12,000 gross compensation. The Court’s determination was signed on 17 July 2023. The employer had appealed the Adjudication Officer’s decision under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.
Collins Condon worked part-time as an Accounts and Payroll Assistant from 2016 until her employment ended by redundancy in June 2020. The employer said the Covid-19 pandemic had damaged its business and created a genuine redundancy. Collins Condon said she was told by telephone that her job was ending without a meeting or a chance to discuss alternatives. The employer’s witness accepted there had been no consultation before the termination decision and said the process could have been handled better.
The Court found that Collins Condon had not been consulted or offered alternatives to redundancy, and that the serious shortcomings made her dismissal unfair. It chose compensation because of the fractured relationship between the parties, setting a base equivalent to nine months’ salary and deducting the statutory redundancy payment she had received. That €3,419 payment is separate from the €12,000 gross compensation award. The Court said she had not secured alternative work until August 2022 and had been seeking part-time work.