Clery’s layoffs ‘link to’ financier Deirdre Foley
The legal and factual position of workers employed at Clerys is “inextricably linked” to events and transactions involving D2 Private Ltd and Ms Foley, its director and owner, the inspectors said in court documents.
The inspectors, appointed by the Workplace Relations Commission, are opposing a challenge brought by D2 and Ms Foley against the Workplace Relations Commission concerning the powers of the inspectors, who seized documents and a computer from D2’s offices in May.
As part of its investigation, it is examining the involvement of Ms Foley and other persons and companies leading to the collective redundancies, the inspectors said.
The case, before Mr Justice Michael Twomey, was brought after the inspectors, along with gardaí, entered D2’s offices at Harcourt Terrace, Dublin, last May and seized various materials.
D2 and Ms Foley are challenging the inspectors’ reliance on provisions of the 1977 Protection of Employment Act and the 2015 Workplace Relations Act, including powers to enter premises and take documents.
The inspectors were appointed following Clerys closure in June 2015, shortly after its sale by its previous owners, the Gordon Brothers Group, to Natrium Ltd. Natrium is a joint venture made up of D2 Private Ltd, and Cheyne Capital Management in the UK.
The hearing continues.
