School canteen lady who served 'overflowing spice bags' to students wins unfair dismissal case

Darragh Mc Donagh

A school canteen lady who was criticised for serving “overflowing” spice bags to students while her employer’s business was struggling has won a case for unfair dismissal.

The woman had expected to return to work after the summer holidays last year, but received a text message from the company secretary telling her that her employment had ended the previous May.

When she claimed to have been unaware of this during a subsequent telephone call, the company secretary allegedly replied: “You’re old, you don’t remember being told.”

The company secretary denied saying this, adding that he did not know the woman’s date of birth. He also accused her of using racist and abusive language towards him, which she also denied.

The canteen lady made a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969, claiming that she had been dismissed without notice or reason on August 8th, 2024.

Her former employer, who held a contract for the provision of catering services at an unnamed school, argued that she had been on a fixed-term contract that ceased in May 2024.

WRC adjudication officer, Elizabeth Spelman, noted that the accounts of the two parties differed considerably.

The complainant produced phone records showing that she missed two calls from the company secretary on August 8th, followed by a WhatsApp message stating: “Going forward, we will not require your services in the canteen. As you already know, your employment ceased in June. Best wishes.”

Ms Spelman said it was “difficult to follow” why the company secretary would contact her on August 8th to inform her that she was no longer required, if her employment had already been terminated months before.

The company said this message had been sent “as a courtesy”, and claimed that the woman had not been able to provide the business with what it needed. Another person was hired following her departure.

The director of the company, who is married to the company secretary, told the WRC that she had expressed concern about “overflowing spice bags” that the complainant allegedly gave to students.

She said the business had not been performing well amid “low sales” and owed money to suppliers. It was claimed that workers had been told in May 2024 that the company would “perform a cessation” regarding their employment.

This was contradicted by a former colleague of the complainant, who told the WRC that the company secretary had wished them a lovely summer at that meeting, and said he would see them again in August 2024.

In her decision, Ms Spelman said it was clear that the message regarding the termination of her employment had taken her by surprise. She added that no issues regarding her performance had been raised during the course of her employment.

“In the circumstances, I find that the worker was dismissed without notice in August 2024 and that her dismissal was substantially and procedurally unfair,” she stated, awarding compensation of €900, which equated to around one month’s pay.