Seamstress unfairly dismissed after 17 years wins €76,000

A seamstress who worked for 17 years at a Cork city alterations shop has secured over €76,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal and other employment rights breaches. Mary Kenneally, 67, was subjected to a purported mandatory retirement just four months after turning down a full-time job elsewhere, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found.

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Everyone was very upset.

Kenneally had worked three days a week for Carr Sewing Machines Limited at its "Singers" shop on Washington Street. In July 2023, she agreed to work a four-day week after giving up another part-time post. However, the following summer, she was informed the firm intended to "bring in someone else" and reduce her hours to three days a week.

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The complainant had been offered a full-time job elsewhere.

The tribunal heard that the company hired several Ukrainian women with limited English, directing existing staff to use Google Translate to communicate, which Kenneally found difficult. Shop manager Marie McCarthy testified that she objected to the reduction in Kenneally's hours and had informed the owner about Kenneally's full-time job offer elsewhere months prior. The owner then stated Kenneally would be leaving in December.

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Kenneally had been an “excellent and long-standing employee” who was treated “exceptionally shabbily” by the firm.

Kenneally's employment was terminated on December 12th, 2024. The company cited an "alleged mandatory retirement age," a claim the tribunal found to be factually incorrect, stating no such policy was in operation. Adjudicator Emile Daly described Kenneally as an "excellent and long-standing employee" who was treated "exceptionally shabbily." The WRC awarded her €67,000 in compensation, noting it was particularly egregious that she lost a full-time job opportunity due to the employer's conduct.

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It was “particularly egregious” that Kenneally “lost out on a full-time job opportunity elsewhere due to the conduct of