UDD2626

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No's: ADJ-00048778 (CA-00059857-001)

BACKGROUND:

The Worker appealed the Decision of the Adjudication Officerto the Labour Court on 10 June 2026 in accordance with Section 8A of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 to 2015. A Labour Court hearing took place on 30 June 2026.

The following is the Decision of the Court:-

DECISION:

Background to the Appeal

This is an appeal by Mr Luca Avella (‘the Complainant’) from a decision of an Adjudication Officer (ADJ-00048778/CA-00059857-001, dated 14 May 2024) under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 (‘the Act’). The Adjudication Officer declined jurisdiction having regard to the fact that the Complainant had signed a written waiver agreement which excluded any claims under, inter alia, the Act arising from his dismissal on grounds of redundancy. Notice of Appeal was received in the Court on 10 June 2024. The Court heard the appeal in Dublin on 30 June 2026.

Preliminary Jurisdictional Issue

The Complainant confirmed the following to the Court at the outset of the within hearing:

1. That he had signed a comprehensive written waiver agreement with his former employer, Sysdig Ltd (‘the Respondent’), prior to the termination of his employment by reason of redundancy;
2. That he was not placed under duress to sign the agreement;
3. That he had a reasonable opportunity to consider the terms of the agreement before signing it;
4. That he had the opportunity to take professional advice before signing and had, in fact, availed himself of professional legal advice at the time; and
5. That the agreement provided for a payment to him which he received and retained.

The Complainant added that after executing the agreement with his former employer, he formed the view that the Respondent had no genuine basis for making his role redundant as it appeared to have advertised a ‘new’ position that was remarkably similar to the one that he had held prior to the termination of his employment. He requested that the Court set aside the agreement in the light of the events that transpired after the agreement had been executed.

Discussion and Decision       

This Court is a creature of statute. It has no inherent common law or equitable jurisdiction. It does not have jurisdiction, for example, to set aside an agreement such as that executed by the parties in the instant case on the basis of misrepresentation. The jurisdiction to do so lies elsewhere.          

On the basis of the foregoing, the Court finds it does not have jurisdiction to hear the Complainant’s substantive claim of unfair dismissal. The appeal fails and the decision of the Adjudication Officer is upheld.              

The Court so decides.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Alan Haugh
CC	______________________
07/07/2026	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Ms Ceola Cronin, Court Secretary.