Labour Court raises Michael O’Sullivan’s unfair dismissal award to €3,000

The Labour Court allowed Michael O’Sullivan’s unfair dismissal appeal against Claddagh Resources and increased his compensation to €3,000 from €250. The determination was dated 17 August 2023. O’Sullivan, a recruitment executive, argued that the company failed to follow fair procedures, including by refusing him an appeal. Claddagh Resources relied on his performance and an email to a junior colleague as grounds for dismissal. The Court found the company’s disciplinary procedures inadequate and said it had not followed its own written procedures. It also found that the company had not fairly investigated the email before dismissing him. The Court found the dismissal unfair but said O’Sullivan contributed at least 50% to it through sustained underperformance and the email. It measured his reckonable loss from mid-June to mid-August 2021 and awarded €3,000. A related industrial relations referral was withdrawn during the hearing.