Powerscourt Hotel tried to reduce pastry chef's pay after pandemic return 

Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa in Co Wicklow was ruled to have unfairly dismissed Pawel Batko.

One of the country’s best-known five-star hotels has been ordered to pay €9,000 compensation to a former executive pastry chef who resigned after it tried to impose a pay reduction on his return to work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that the Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa in Co Wicklow has unfairly dismissed Pawel Batko.

Mr Batko complained to the WRC that the hotel had unilaterally tried to impose new contractual terms on him in June 2020 when it was re-opening facilities after its closure during the pandemic.

The hotel denied that it had constructively dismissed the pastry chef and claimed that alternative terms were suggested to Mr Batko in an effort to get him back to work during restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The WRC heard that Mr Batko, who had worked full-time at the hotel for over six years, was laid off in March 2020 due to the pandemic but received a call on June 17, 2020 to return to work for three days per week.

Mr Batko was advised that he would be the only member of his team returning at that time and he would be expected to operate in all areas of the kitchen when the hotel reopened and not just the bakery.

Significant drop in revenue

He was informed the following day that a pay reduction of 9.8% was being imposed as the hotel had suffered a significant drop in revenue.

Mr Batko said he was told that the hotel did not intend to make his role redundant but he believed he had been dismissed as his contract of employment was fundamentally altered.

The hotel said Mr Batko had chosen to remain on lay-off and had requested that he be made redundant.

In its ruling, the WRC said it was apparent that the hotel sought to simply pay Mr Batko less for completing the same amount of work.

“Such an amendment represents a fundamental alteration to the contractual relation between the parties and serves to repudiate the contract of employment,” said WRC adjudicator, Brian Dolan.

He noted the hotel had claimed that a reduction in pay was offered in an effort to facilitate his return to employment.

Mr Dolan said the hotel was clearly in a position to provide the work for which Mr Batko was employed to do as he was invited back to work in June 2020 In addition, the hotel’s general manager had specifically requested him to return to work in August 2020.

Core term of contract

The WRC said it appeared the hotel refused to allow Mr Batko to return to work until he accepted the reduction in pay which indicated it no longer intended to be bound by a core term of their contract.

As a result Mr Dolan said the pastry chef was duly entitled to consider himself dismissed.

The WRC observed that the hotel has also claimed that Mr Batko’s resignation could not be considered reasonable as he had not exhausted all internal grievance procedures.

However, Mr Dolan said the pastry chef had raised an objection about the proposed pay decrease on five separate occasions including with his HR manager at the outset and subsequently with the hotel’s general manager.

Mr Dolan said Mr Batko’s decision to resign and terminate his contract was reasonable in the circumstances.

In settling on an award of €9,000 the WRC said it took into account that Mr Batko had secured alternative temporary employment shortly after his dismissal but at a much lower rate of pay, while he had also sought to retrain and seek work in an alternative field.