Worker Awarded Over €30,000 for Unfair Dismissal After Marrying Employer’s Daughter
A mechanic who claimed he was fired just two days after marrying his employer’s daughter — and later stabbed when he returned to collect his car — has been awarded more than €30,000 for unfair dismissal by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
In a decision published this week, WRC adjudicator Conor Stokes ruled that the man, whose identity remains confidential, was unfairly dismissed from his job at a motor garage in autumn 2024. The case was anonymised to protect the identities of those involved, including an asylum seeker, and because the assaults connected to the case are under active investigation by An Garda Síochána.
According to the ruling, the worker had been earning €508 per week. He told the WRC that he was dismissed without notice two days after marrying the owner’s daughter and was instructed to return to the garage to collect his car. When he arrived at the agreed time, he said he was attacked and stabbed.
“The complainant indicated that this matter and subsequent assaults are with the Gardaí for investigation,” the adjudicator noted in the decision.
The tribunal also recorded that the employer did not attend the hearing, while the worker represented himself. Mr Stokes said the complainant “came across as a credible witness” and accepted his version of events.
54 Weeks’ Lost Pay Awarded
The adjudicator found that the worker had suffered a loss of earnings equivalent to 54 weeks’ pay and was entitled to full compensation. He calculated the total financial loss at €30,278, taking into account the increase in Ireland’s national minimum wage that came into effect in January 2025.
“My decision is that the complainant was unfairly dismissed, and he is entitled to compensation from his former employer of €30,278, which is just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances,” Mr Stokes wrote.
The date of the dismissal was not specified in the ruling, but the unfair dismissal complaint was lodged with the WRC in October 2024.
Decision Anonymised for Safety Reasons
Mr Stokes said he had “departed from the principle of open justice” by withholding the identities of the parties involved. He explained that publishing the names could interfere with ongoing criminal investigations and risk identifying an asylum seeker.
The Garda investigation into the alleged stabbing and related assaults remains ongoing.
