Employee absent for 45% of working time fined €2,500 for unfair dismissal

An employee of a shelter for vulnerable children, dismissed at the end of her probationary period, was awarded €2,500 for unfair dismissal despite having been absent for almost half of her employment.

A Labour Relations Commission (WRC) sentencing hearing heard the woman, who was hired as an assistant manager, was absent six times for a total of almost 14 weeks and never worked a full month.

She had refused to work her scheduled hours, complaining that she had not been given sufficient notice, and had made herself unavailable for work for reasons other than health problems, although she had been hired to work 40 hours a week.

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His former employer, who provides residential care services for vulnerable children, told the WRC that it had a duty to provide adequate staffing and had been unable to fulfil this duty due to the worker’s poor attendance.

The court also noted that she had missed essential workplace training on three occasions and said her failure to meet her contractual obligations left the centre with no choice but to terminate her employment in accordance with the probationary clause in her contract.

In her statement to the WRC, the employee said she started working at the center on July 4, 2023, but fell ill the following month. She was hospitalized in August and October and underwent surgery in November.

She had lodged a complaint regarding her annual leave entitlements during her probationary period, and lodged a second complaint after being informed in January 2024 that her role was changing from assistant manager to team leader.

She was invited to a meeting on February 7, believing she was to discuss her grievances. However, she was told at the meeting that she had failed her probationary period because she was not “a good person.”

The woman said she was not informed in advance that there was a problem with her performance, there was no performance review and no discussion about extending her probationary period.

In her decision, WRC arbitration officer Bríd Deering said she understood the “real difficulties” the worker’s absence for 45 per cent of her employment had caused the centre, given the nature of the services it provides.

“However, taken as a whole, the manner in which the worker was dismissed did not correspond to the level of treatment that could be expected from a reasonable employer,” she added.

Ms Deering said the company did not conduct a formal three- or six-month review as required by the contract. She also noted the centre could have considered extending the probationary period, which would have given it time to investigate the woman’s grievances.

“An employer is not relieved of its duty to act fairly during a probationary period,” she said, awarding the worker €2,500 compensation for unfair dismissal.

“Having regard to all the circumstances of this dispute, I conclude that the decision to dismiss the worker was unfair due to the lack of fair procedures.”

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