The Complainant sought to appeal the decision of the AO under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. The Complainant was employed as Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Between 2001 and 2014, she headed up various different departments within the Respondent organisation. In June 2014, the Complainant successfully sought out a 12-month secondment opportunity with the Health Service Executive and was granted permission by the then CEO to avail herself of the opportunity.

The initial 12-month secondment was subsequently extended and continued for almost three years in total. The Complainant was then informed from the Respondent’s Human Resource Manager that the Respondent would not be in a position to extend her secondment arrangement beyond the scheduled expiry date and therefore she would