A US multinational software firm has been ordered to pay an award of €168,682 to a senior past-employee based in Ireland, following a ruling of unfair dismissal by Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
A key deciding factor in the the case hinged on the employer’s US-based in-house lawyer conceding that he had not checked Irish employment law before dismissing the employee’s redundancy appeal. At the time, the employee was its most senior employee in Europe.
Although the WRC adjudicator did acknowledge that there had been a genuine redundancy situation, he considered the company’s appeals process to be flawed and therefore, the employee’s complaint under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 was well-founded.
The employer was ordered to pay to a gross sum of €168,682.09 in full and final settlement with payment to be made within 42 days. The WRC also recommended the employer obtain expert advice on any tax implications involved in the making of the payment.
Case Summary:
The employee held the post of Senior Director of Sales (EMEA) over 17-month period from May 2021 until his dismissal in October 2022.
The employee claimed he was dismissed under the guise of a redundancy and that the employer did not follow a proper consultation process. He also claimed that the employer had refused to engage with him, had failed to consider any proposals that he had put forward to avoid redundancy and that the employer had already reached its decision to terminate his employment before the process began.