Employee Awarded 1/3rd of Loss – WRC Prepared to Accept that One of Three Reasons for his Dismissal was his Application for Paternity Leave

The Complainant in Mark Maunders v Overhead Doors Ireland Limited ADJ-00033788 brought an unfair dismissal complaint against his former employer, alleging that he was dismissed for a combination of three reasons, one of which was because he had applied for two weeks’ paternity leave.

Facts: The Complainant commenced employment with the Respondent as a manager on 15^th February 2021 and was dismissed on 24^th May 2021. The Complainant gave evidence that he left secure employment to join the Respondent company and that the owners had informed him that they would be taking a step back from the business and wanted the Complainant to “run the show for them”. The Complainant informed the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) that during his brief employment he hired six new employees, each of whom was issued with a written contract of employment containing a probationary clause. The Complainant himself was never provided with a contract of employment and his employment was not subject to a probationary period. It was accepted by the Respondent that the Complainant had not been given a written contract of employment.

The Complainant was dismissed after three months of employment. He was not issued with any correspondence or documentation providing any reason(s) for his dismissal and he informed the WRC that he had not been informed of any issues during his employment.

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