CONSTRUCTIVE DIMISSAL
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Constructive Dismissal
The claimant worked as the CEO of a Galway based tech company which is now in liquidation. He started employment on 1 October 2019. When he started work with the company his salary was €200,000 plus car and health insurance benefits.
He took the company to the Workplace Relations Commission for constructive dismissal as he felt he was forced to resign in December 2024 as a result of the company’s actions. These included the removal of his systems access, interference with his communications and exclusion from his operational role in the company. He claimed this amounted to a fundamental breach of trust and confidence.
The respondent did not attend the hearing.
The Adjudicating officer said that “the unilateral interception and redirection of the complainant’s communications, without any procedural safeguards or notification, represents a profound breach of trust and confidence.”
Continuing she said: “Taken together, I am satisfied that these actions amount to a complete undermining of the employment relationship. They objectively demonstrate conduct inconsistent with the continuation of the contract and therefore constitute a repudiatory breach.”
And “therefore it appears objectively reasonable for the complainant to conclude that the employment relationship had broken down irretrievably and that he had no option but to treat himself as dismissed.”
She ruled that the complainant was entitled to his full contractual notice period of six months. The adjudication officer also considered his financial loss during the following 12 months to 12 June 2026 during which he was and is bound by restrictive covenants.
While the complainant could seek work after the restrictive covenant expired, the adjudication officer noted that “the scarcity of CEO‑level positions, combined with the circumstances of the dismissal and the disruption to his career trajectory, make it unlikely that he will secure an equivalent role quickly.”
Under these circumstances she ruled that ‘it would be reasonable to allow a further 12 months of loss from 12 June 2026 to 12 June 2027, highlighting the decision in Rooney v Twitter International Unlimited Company (ADJ‑00044246), “which recognises that senior executives are not required to seek work below their level, and must instead be afforded a realistic period to obtain a comparable post”.
Taking all this into consideration she assessed the complainant’s financial loss at €420,172 and directed the respondent to pay that sum in respect of the unfair dismissal.
Because there was no representation for the company, we do not know what defence, if any, the company had. What is clear however is the risk companies take when they take actions which undermine their senior management and deny them fair procedures.
Flannery v Xerotech Ltd (In Liquidation) WRC No. ADJ-00056117.