Ex-employee of Kerry restaurant run by Nathan McDonnell wins €78k for unfair dismissal

WRC ruled Ballyseedy Restaurants should pay compensation totalling €77,848 to its former IT manager for unfair dismissal, unpaid wages and lost earnings, after being let go from his job last January

Ballyseedy Restaurants ceased trading on February 26, 2024, after the arrest of its chief executive Nathan McDonnell following a multi-million euro seizure of crystal meth in the Port of Cork, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, on October 16, 2023. Picture: Domnick Walsh

A Kerry company which was wound up by the High Court last weekafter its chief executive pleaded guilty to importing drugs worth €32m, has been ordered to pay a former employee almost €78,000 for breaches of employment legislation.

The Workplace Relation Commission ruled Ballyseedy Restaurants should pay compensation totalling €77,848 to its former IT manager David McCullagh for unfair dismissal, unpaid wages and lost earnings, after being let go from his job last January.

The company operated a garden centre and restaurant in Tralee, Co Kerry, as well as four other cafés around the country.

The WRC noted the company, which did not attend a hearing and was not legally represented, ceased trading on February 26, 2024, after the arrest of its chief executive Nathan McDonnell following a multi-million euro seizure of crystal meth in the Port of Cork, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, on October 16, 2023.

Mr McDonnell is due to be sentenced in December after pleading guilty at the Special Criminal Court in September to importing drugs as well as facilitating an organised crime gang.

Mr McCullagh told the WRC the fallout from his employer’s arrest had impacted on his efforts to find a new job.

The WRC heard Mr McCullagh began work with Ballyseedy Restaurants in June 2021 on a fixed-term contract as a digital transformation specialist, before being appointed head of IT and procurement in May 2022.

His employment was terminated on January 13, 2024, on purported grounds of redundancy, which he maintained constituted an unfair dismissal.

Mr McCullagh claimed he was never furnished with an updated contract of employment, was unfairly placed on short-time, and had his wages unilaterally reduced in breach of his employment contract.

He also alleged he was not afforded his correct annual leave entitlement or paid in lieu of same and to date has not received a statutory redundancy payment.

The WRC heard he was paid an annual salary of €50,000 for working a three-day week.

Mr McCullagh told the WRC he was warned in December 2023 his role was at risk of redundancy but was not given any financial information to justify any selection criteria being used by the company. 

He was subsequently notified by email on January 13, 2024, that he was being dismissed for reasons of redundancy.

Mr McCullagh said he lodged an appeal with an external HR company being used by Ballyseedy Restaurants.

However, it did not proceed with the case due to not getting documentation from his employer, and Mr McCullagh said he next heard the company had ceased trading.

Unable to secure alternative work

Mr McCullagh said he had been unable to secure alternative work over the following 10 months.

He told the WRC he was close to obtaining another role on a number of occasions but the job offers inexplicably became unavailable when the prospective employer learned of the identity of his previous employer.

Ordering the company to pay compensation of €50,000 for unfair dismissal, WRC adjudication officer Aideen Collard said Mr McCullagh was an impressive witness who provided a credible account of his dismissal.

Mr McCullagh also complained he was unilaterally placed on short-time on one day a week for a period of eight weeks between September and November 2023 without pay for the other two days due to alleged financial issues with the company.

He expressed surprise as sales were up, while the payroll was down, but he surmised the company wanted to get out of hospitality and wanted to reduce costs to make it more attractive to a prospective buyer.

The WRC ruled the complainant should be paid €10,720 in unpaid wages and a further €1,280 in compensation.

The WRC also found Mr McCullagh had never been provided with an updated contract of employment, despite raising the issue with the company’s chief financial officer, and awarded him €3,848.

It ruled he should be paid an additional €12,000 in compensation in lieu of annual leave entitlement he had not been given.