ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00062167

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	Rodrigo García Cruz	Ryanair DAC

Representatives

Represented himself

Roland Rowan BL

Complaint:

Act	Complaint Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00074873-002	27/08/2025

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 02/04/2026

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne

Procedure:

In accordance with section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, this complaint was assigned to me by the Director General. I conducted a hearing on April 2nd 2026 and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence relevant to the complaint. The complainant, Mr Rodrigo Garcia Cruz, represented himself at the hearing, and was accompanied by a friend, Ms Paula Coutado. Ryanair DAC was represented by Mr Roland Rowan BL, instructed by Mr Killian O’Reilly of Fieldfisher Ireland LLP, assisted by Ms Emma Durkin. In attendance for Ryanair were the HR director, Ms Lorna Reynolds, a HR manager, Ms Jennifer Gormley and a HR officer, Ms Niamh Finnegan.

While the parties are named in this Decision, from here on, I will refer to Mr Garcia Cruz as “the complainant” and to Ryanair DAC as “the respondent.”

Summary of the Complainant’s Case and the Respondent’s Position:

The complainant commenced working with the respondent in February 2020 as a customer service agent in the cabin crew. Four years later, he was promoted to the role of customer service supervisor. In this capacity, he earned €17,700 plus what was referred to as a “rank allowance” of €2,500, plus “schedule block hour sector pay” which varies according to flights worked on.

In January 2025, a disciplinary investigation into the complainant’s conduct resulted in him being issued with a final written warning and demoted to his first role of customer service agent. He had previously been issued with a final written warning in May 2024. He did not appeal against the issuing of the second written warning or the demotion. His salary as a customer service agent is €15,620, plus variable pay. When he received his March wages, he submitted a query to the HR team. On April 11th, a member of the HR team wrote to him and confirmed that he had been demoted to the role of customer service agent and that his salary was €15,620, plus block hour sector pay.

On the form he submitted to the WRC, the complainant claims that, following his demotion and salary reduction, he did not receive a written statement setting out the terms and conditions of his employment. At the hearing, he said he signed a new contract when he was promoted in February 2024 and he passed his probation as a supervisor. He said that he wanted to know if he should be issued with a new contract of employment, to reflect the reduction in his salary because of the demotion.

In the documents he submitted in advance of the hearing, the complainant provided me with a copy of a letter of February 27th 2025, which confirms that he has been re-issued with a second final written warning and that he has been demoted “due to your repeated failures to comply with the company’s Standard Operating Procedures…” At the hearing, Mr Rowan, for the respondent, provided me with a copy of the letter dated April 11th 2025 in which a member of the HR team confirmed to the complainant that he had been demoted to the role of customer service agent and specifically, that his salary was reduced to €15,620 plus block hour sector pay. Despite this clarification, on August 27th 2025, the complainant submitted this complaint to the WRC.

Findings and Conclusions:

I am satisfied that the complainant was issued with a statement on January 19th 2024 which sets out his terms and conditions of employment, including his job title of customer service supervisor with the associated salary of €16,770. I am further satisfied that, on February 27th 2025, he was issued with a letter informing him that his role had changed and that, with immediate effect, he had been demoted to the role of customer service agent. I note that, on April 11th 2025, he was issued with a letter confirming that the salary for this job is €15,620, plus block hour sector pay.

I am satisfied that, in respect of their communication of changes to the complainant’s terms and conditions of employment from February 27th 2025, the respondent has acted in compliance with s.3 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

I decide that this complaint is not well founded.

Dated: 1st May 2026

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne

Key Words:

Changes to statement of terms and conditions of employment.