{"id":481426,"date":"2026-06-03T19:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/481426\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T19:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T19:20:09","slug":"company-has-to-pay-ex-cfo-e60k-after-failure-to-explain-redundancy-wrc-rules-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/481426\/","title":{"rendered":"Company has to pay ex-CFO \u20ac60k after failure to explain redundancy, WRC rules \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

A company executive has been awarded her full losses of \u20ac60,000 after spending six months out of work as the Workplace Relations Commission<\/a> (WRC) found she was \u201cundoubtedly caused difficulty\u201d in her job hunt by her ex-employer\u2019s \u201cunreasonable\u201d failure to tell her why she was let go. <\/p>\n

The WRC has directed Horizon Controls Ltd to pay its former chief financial officer, Helen Nason, the sum as compensation under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 for termination-related losses. <\/p>\n

In April 2024, Nason was told she \u201cno longer had a job and would be let go\u201d, the WRC was told. \u201cWhen she asked for a reason for her dismissal, none was forthcoming from the HR manager or the CEO.\u201d <\/p>\n

There was no right of appeal given and Nason found herself cut off from the company\u2019s computer systems within minutes, it was submitted. <\/p>\n

The tribunal noted \u201cevidence of a background of financial difficulties\u201d at the company in a decision published on Wednesday. Nason told the WRC that, prior to her dismissal, she had warned the company\u2019s chief executive \u201cseveral times\u201d about risks with an investment into a technology which was \u201cnot profitable\u201d while failing to invest in parts of the business which were performing. <\/p>\n

Around two or three months before her dismissal, the business \u201clost a multimillion euro contract\u201d, she added. <\/p>\n

The business\u2019s profit and loss account for its interests in Europe was \u201cunder budget\u201d by 15 per cent in March 2024, rising to 18 per cent in April that year, a solicitor for the company submitted. <\/p>\n

Nason\u2019s dismissal was \u201cgenuine and legitimate\u201d and arose due to redundancy, the business\u2019s solicitor added, but the company accepted \u201cthe manner in which [the] termination was conducted was flawed\u201d. <\/p>\n

As Nason was involved in redundancy processes that had already cut 11 jobs before her position was eliminated, its solicitor argued that she knew the business was \u201cnot performing\u201d. <\/p>\n

Some 17 more jobs had been cut since Nason was let go, and 20 other posts left vacant by resignations were not replaced, it was further submitted. Short-term working and salary cuts had also been brought in in an attempt to secure the company\u2019s financial viability, the WRC was told. <\/p>\n

Nason\u2019s solicitor said she was denied fair procedures and the company could not show there were any substantial grounds for her dismissal. Nason gave evidence that she applied for 146 positions in the six months she spent out of work. <\/p>\n

Nason said the fact that she was given no reason for her dismissal caused \u201cdifficulty\u201d finding re-employment, and there were not many openings for chief financial officer jobs. <\/p>\n

The company submitted that Nason \u201cshould not have been six months out of work\u201d given her background as the chief financial officer of a multinational firm.<\/p>\n

Rejecting this argument in her decision, adjudicator Davnet O\u2019Driscoll said Ms Nason\u2019s record of job applications was \u201cextensive\u201d and that she was satisfied the worker\u2019s efforts to mitigate her losses were \u201creasonable\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe failure to provide any reason was, of itself, unreasonable and undoubtedly caused difficulty for the complainant in seeking other employment,\u201d O\u2019Driscoll wrote. <\/p>\n

As the complainant\u2019s new job was on a lower rate of pay, Nason\u2019s financial losses continued after she found new work and had reached \u20ac60,230 when the case was heard in May this year, O\u2019Driscoll wrote. <\/p>\n

Upholding the complaint, she concluded it was \u201cjust and equitable\u201d that the company pay Nason her full losses. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A company executive has been awarded her full losses of \u20ac60,000 after spending six months out of work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,1962,6465],"class_list":["post-481426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-work","tag-workplace-relations-commission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}