WRC Finds Employer Used Redundancy as “Cloak” to Exit Senior Employee in Ireland

In Mark Langham v JMK Group (ADJ-00047192) the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) awarded €125,000 in compensation under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2015 (the “Acts”) after finding that the Complainant was unfairly dismissed under the “cloak” of redundancy.

Facts: The Complainant commenced employment with the Respondent on 16th May 2022 as Head of Operations Ireland. He was dismissed by reason of redundancy just over a year later on 16th June 2023. The Complainant was informed that “last in first out” (“LIFO”) was the reason for his role’s selection for redundancy (the sole proposed redundancy) and following a consultation period his role was made redundant.

The Respondent is a family-owned group which operates hotels in the UK and Ireland. The Respondent submitted to the WRC that they reviewed senior management roles in the business in or around November 2022 and decided that the Head of Operations role in Ireland was surplus to requirements. This role was responsible for managing the operational department in Ireland and had a number of direct reports. Ms Kajani, Director, gave evidence to the WRC on the business rationale for cost saving measures in the Irish business which led to the Complainant’s redundancy. The Complainant’s salary of €160,000 was taken into consideration along with refinancing options and outsourcing of housekeeping. The Respondent submitted that the redundancy was genuine, and the role remains vacant. They also submitted that they engaged the services of an external HR consultancy firm to ensure impartiality in relation to the procedures they followed.

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