This case focuses on the issue of unfair dismissal. The Respondent had allegedly dismissed the Complainant from employment in order to avoid making a mandatory redundancy payment.

The Complainant commenced employment as a general operative with the Respondent in 1993 and was later promoted to the position of farm manager. In 2004, the Complainant was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The Complainant contended that he had never missed work due to the condition, save for the exception of two or three days in 2012. In June 2018, the Respondent informed the Complainant that an insurance issue arose and he was not permitted to return to work until he obtained a letter from his neurologist that confirmed he was able to drive. The Respondent dismissed the Complainant that same day in a meeting between both parties.

There had never been an insurance issue prior to this. The Complainant felt that the sole reason for the dismissal was to avoid paying him a redundancy payment. The Adjudication Officer was satisfied that unfair dismissal had taken place. The key requirements for an employee being dismissed for incapacity had not been met. In reaching her conclusion, the adjudication officer noted that at no stage had the Respondent taken any meaningful steps to assess if there was a substantial reason why the Complainant could not continue in employment, and the Complainant was not notified at any stage that dismissal for incapacity was being considered. Accordingly, the Adjudication Officer upheld the complaint and awarded the Complainant a sum of €31,000. 
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2019/March/ADJ-00017360.html