A senior chef who was “shocked” to discover a planning application to turn the restaurant he worked for into offices has been awarded over \u20ac21,000 in compensation, after the Workplace Relations Commission ruled he was unfairly dismissed.<\/p>\n
Padraic Casserly made claims under the Unfair Dismissals Act, the Organisation of Working Time Act, and the Payment of wages Act against Tribal Restaurant Ltd \u2013 trading as the Tribeton bar and restaurant in Galway, where he had been executive chef since August 2015.<\/p>\n
His solicitors told the WRC that their client was advised the restaurant would close \u201ctemporarily\u201d because of the Covid-19 pandemic on 15 March 2020.<\/p>\n
But on 29 May that year, Mr Casserly was \u201cshocked\u201d to discover that planning permission was being sought to change the restaurant into office space, it was submitted.<\/p>\n
On 20 June, the company wrote to him to say the restaurant would stay closed \u201cas it was not viable to open owing to the public health advice and restrictions that remained in place\u201d, his solicitors said, with the directors saying they would review the position in August.<\/p>\n
On August 25th, Mr Casserly wrote to seek outstanding pay but got no reply, his solicitors said, and planning permission for the office conversion was granted on 1 September.<\/p>\n
But the company had still \u201cfailed to advise him of the status of his employment as promised\u201d by the end of August and did not respond to a letter from his solicitor in September.<\/p>\n
Mr Casserly said in evidence he was \u201cupset\u201d about Tribal Restaurant Ltd going to seek planning permission without engaging with him and refusing to answer his questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe respondent\u2019s actions were in effect dismissal as the respondent refused to engage with any queries that the complainant had regarding his employment,\u201d his lawyers argued.<\/p>\n
In her decision, adjudicating officer Louise Boyle noted that Tribal Restaurant Ltd and its solicitor had attended an initial hearing in July 2021. The matter was adjourned at that stage pending the passage of the emergency legislation last year to allow the WRC to administer oaths, following the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in the Zalewski case. <\/p>\n
But when the matter was re-listed for the January 2022 hearing, there was no response from the company or its solicitors, MacSweeney & Company.<\/p>\n
The complainant\u2019s lawyers, Berwick Solicitors, said they had been informed by McSweeney & Co that they had come off record in the case, the adjudicator noted.<\/p>\n
Ms Boyle noted correspondence from Tribal Restaurant Ltd denying the allegations and insisting staff had been on layoff from 15 March 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have been uneconomic and financially reckless to have reopened when restrictions remained,\u201d the firm said in the written submission, which called Mr Casserly\u2019s complaints \u201cpremature and ill-conceived\u201d.<\/p>\n
The adjudicator ruled she was satisfied the company was on notice of the hearing date.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only sworn evidence that I have to rely on is that from the complainant,\u201d Ms Boyle wrote, calling him a \u201ccredible witness\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it unreasonable that in the circumstances the respondent did not engage with the complainant regarding his queries,\u201d Ms Boyle wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn all of the circumstances, including that the respondent did not attend the hearing and that the burden of proof rests with the respondent, I find that it was reasonable of the complainant to assume that his employment was terminated, that [he] was dismissed and that the dismissal was unfair,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Mr Casserly estimated his losses at \u20ac22,418, Ms Boyle noted, but found he \u201ccould have made more sufficient efforts to seek alternative employments, including outside the hospitality sector\u201d, she wrote.<\/p>\n
She awarded him 20 weeks\u2019 pay, \u20ac17,308.20, for the unfair dismissal; redress of a further four weeks\u2019 pay, \u20ac3,461.64 for unpaid notice, and \u20ac692.33 for non-payment for public holidays \u2013 a total of \u20ac21,461.97 in compensation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A senior chef who was “shocked” to discover a planning application to turn the restaurant he worked for into offices has been awarded over \u20ac21,000 in compensation, after the Workplace Relations Commission ruled he was unfairly dismissed.<\/p>\n
Padraic Casserly made claims under the Unfair Dismissals Act, the Organisation of Working Time Act, and the Payment of wages Act against Tribal Restaurant <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":32629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n