Solicitor's challenge to WRC's handling of her unfair dismissal case dismissed by High Court

Last month, Ammi Burke told the court her firing from Arthur Cox, a notice party, in November 2019 came 'out of the blue'.

A challenge brought by solicitor Ammi Burke over a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) officer’s handling of her complaint of unfair dismissal from top law firm Arthur Cox has been dismissed by the High Court. Mr Justice Garrett Simons “dismissed in its entirety” Ammi Burke’s proceedings against adjudication officer Marie Flynn, who aborted her case in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision with significant implications for WRC hearings and determinations.

Ms Burke’s claim for unfair dismissal had been part-heard when the Supreme Court’s Zalewski decision last April found two sections of the Workplace Relations Act were incompatible with the Constitution. That court ruled there was no justification for a blanket prohibition on hearings in public before adjudication officers and emphasised the importance of giving evidence on oath to promote truthful testimony.