Former Ryanair worker used AI to incorrectly claim airline owed him money, WRC rules

A hearing at the Workplace Relations Commission found that Fernando Oliveira was, in fact, overpaid after the termination of his contract, and has yet to repay a €700 surplus to Ryanair. File picture

A former Ryanair cabin crew member was found to have “erroneously” relied on AI in his ultimately unsuccessful bid to recoup around €2,300 from the termination of his contract with the aviation giant.

A hearing at the Workplace Relations Commission found that Fernando Oliveira was, in fact, overpaid after the termination of his contract, and has yet to repay a €700 surplus to Ryanair.

Mr Oliveira began working with the airline through an agency in August 2022 before becoming directly employed by the company. He resigned in June 2025.

He told the WRC his resignation had left him out of pocket due to unpaid wages, alleged unlawful deductions and a correction of his sick pay deduction and annual leave claw-back.

Ryanair evidence

Roland Rowan — acting on behalf of Ryanair and instructed by Fieldfisher’s Killian O Reilly — said a €411 sick leave payment to Mr Oliveria was made in error. At the time of the payment, Mr Oliveira was under disciplinary investigation and was not contractually obligated to receive sick pay.

The WRC heard Mr Oliveira had greatly exceeded his accrued annual leave allocation by 8.3 days at the time of his resignation, and that the claw-back mechanism was carried out as stipulated in his contract.

Ryanair provided evidence that Mr Oliveira received his statutory entitlement of five days' sick pay, amounting to €335.51, which was recorded as "Pay Adjustment" on his April 28, 2025, payslip. Overpayments stemmed from the reconciliation of his final pay.

Evidence presented by the aviation company was based on three separate written explanations issued over a seven-month period and supported by payslips.

At the hearing, Mr Oliveira “did not engage with the substance of what was put to him” by Ryanair’s representatives and denied owing Ryanair €718.

WRC ruling

“The complainant did not give evidence addressing the respondent's explanation of the annual leave rate, did not explain why he considered himself entitled to a further month's salary in July notwithstanding that his employment had already ended on June 11, 2025,” wrote WRC adjudicating officer Breiffni O’Neill.

“When challenged on each of these specific points, the complainant did not offer an explanation in his own terms and I formed the view that his submission had been prepared by AI,” Mr O’Neill continued.

He concluded Mr Oliveira was free to prepare a submission in any manner, but was not relieved of the burden in establishing he was wronged in his dismissal.

“It is both extraordinary and rare, in my experience, for a respondent to engage with a complainant's objections in the degree of sustained, itemised detail, that they did in this case and the complainant did not engage with it in turn, at hearing or at any stage prior to it, preferring, in my view, to rely instead what AI erroneously told him,” Mr O’Neill concluded.

Mr Oliveira had previously lost a €170,000 discrimination case against Ryanair in October 2025, and had admitted to using AI at the hearing.

He had alleged his supervisor had falsely accused him of drinking on the job, making racist remarks and threatening colleagues.

In the case, Mr Oliveira had referenced two previous WRC rulings in his submission that appeared to be AI ‘hallucinations’ and had never actually taken place.