An American multinational has been ordered to pay over €140,000 to a veteran Irish executive after admitting to her unfair dismissal after 24 years at the firm.
The Irish arm of translation and localisation multinational Lionbridge was directed to pay the losses to its former EMEA managing director, Caroline O'Connell, on foot of what her lawyer called a "sham redundancy" from her €275,000-plus-bonus post in November 2024.
Ms O'Connell told the Workplace Relations Commisson (WRC) last year she pursued a grievance upon finding out in a company newsletter in July 2024 that her job had been "radically changed" and she had been "demoted".
"I have to say, that was pretty stressful," Ms O’Connell said of the discovery. "I believe I was dismissed because I took a grievance about my job being changed in a newsletter to the company," she said.
Notice that her role was at risk of redundancy was given to her just two days after the conclusion of a grievance process, she said.
Her former employer told the WRC that it was conceding unfair dismissal, leaving the level of redress the only matter for the WRC to decide.
More than half a million euro was in dispute between the parties, including the losses from unemployment, ongoing loss of bonus in her new position, and alleged entitlements to stock options.
Separate litigation between the parties in the High Court in Dublin and in the US was also raised at the WRC.
The Lionbridge Group had sued Ms O'Connell in the US, accusing her of breaching a restrictive covenant by going to work for an alleged competitor, Vistatec, where she had secured an executive position.
Ms O'Connell, who was out of work nearly six months, said she interviewed for three roles and was offered two. She turned down a €60,000-a-year fixed-term position at the Irish Management Institute as a sales director while interviewing with Vistatec, she said.
Mark Curran BL, appearing instructed by Mason Hayes and Curran for Lionbridge International ULC, put it to Ms O'Connell in cross-examination that Vistatec was a competitor.
"I've only worked in the localisation industry. Where was I supposed to go?" Ms O’Connell said, adding she was not paid for garden leave in contrast to other "genuinely redundant" employees.
"What was I supposed to do, sit around for a year on the dole?" she added.
Adjudication officer Breiffni O’Neill said he had the power to order the company to reinstate Ms O'Connell.
"No thank you," Ms O’Connell said. "I would just like to get my life back and move on, that's what I'd like," she replied.
In his decision, adjudicator Breiffni O’Neill found that Ms O’Connell's loss due to the dismissal was €142,984.
He awarded the complainant her full losses.
He had rejected the argument by the company that Ms O’Connell had failed to sufficiently mitigate her losses during her job-hunt in view of the "very senior level at which she was employed" and the "relatively few" openings available at that level of seniority.
He found Ms O'Connell’s efforts to find new work were reasonable.
He had also disagreed with Mr Curran's argument that a statutory redundancy lump sum of €30,000 already paid to the complainant ought to be subtracted from the award.
