LCR22411

1. Reinstatement to original position or redundancy.

BACKGROUND:

2. On the 1 February 2021 the Worker referred the issue to the Labour Court, in accordance with Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969. A Labour Court hearing took place in a virtual court room on 16 April 2021.

The Worker agreed to be bound by the Court’s Recommendation.

RECOMMENDATION :

The Worker was employed by Rathville Company Limited (‘the Company’) as a lorry driver delivering heavy steel in the Leinster area. He commenced employment with the Company in June 2006. His last working day was 21 May 2020. On that day he commenced a period of certified sick leave of approximately six months during which he submitted medical certificates confirming that he was suffering from work-related stress.

The Company was notified of the within hearing but declined to be represented at it.

The Worker told the Court that from March 2020 onwards his boss, Mr Maurice O’Connor, left the day-to-day running of the business (because of Covid-related concerns and having regard to his age) to a salesman with whom the Worker frequently had disagreements about the way materials should be loaded on the truck for delivery and the sequence in which loads should be delivered. This added to an already stressful job as the Worker routinely encountered situations where he single-handedly had to unload very heavy and cumbersome materials in customers’ premises without any assistance. In addition to this, the salesman routinely and unreasonably instructed the Worker to make further deliveries after he had completed a very long day of driving.

The Worker believes that he was justified in regarding himself as constructively dismissed from his employment as Mr O’Connor refused to engage meaningfully or at all with him in relation to the pressure that he had been put under following Mr O’Connor’s decision to delegate the day-to-day management of the business to the salesman.

Discussion and Recommendation

The Court finds that the complaint of constructive dismissal is well-founded and recommends that the Worker be paid compensation of €5,000.00.

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Alan Haugh
TH	______________________
17 May 2021	Deputy Chairman