Unfair Dismissal Compensation Following an Accident in the Workplace

Could My Employer Sack Me For Bringing a Claim for Compensation

If your employer was foolish enough to dismiss you for nothing more than exercising your legal right to be compensated for the pain and suffering which was caused by their negligence, the number of claims you would have against your employer would automatically double to having both a personal injury claim coupled with a claim for unfair dismissal.

What’s more, unlike a compensation claim for an injury at work – where it’s up to you to prove that your employer was in the wrong – your dismissal will be presumed to be unfair in the eyes of the law unless your employer can show substantial grounds to justify it.

Irish unfair dismissal legislation specifically provides that a dismissal will be deemed to be unfair where it is shown that it resulted wholly or mainly from the bringing of legal proceedings against an employer by an employee.

Therefore if you were to be sacked after making a claim in relation to an accident at work, in addition to being entitled to damages for pain and suffering, loss of earnings, the costs of all medical treatments and all other expenses associated with your injuries, you would also be entitled to the remedies available under the unfair dismissal legislation which include:

• reinstatement, meaning that you would be treated as if you had never been dismissed and you would be entitled to recover all earnings from the date of your dismissal to the date of your return to work; or
• compensation of up to a maximum of the equivalent of two years’ pay.

Thankfully, because Irish employment legislation provides such strong protections against workers being punished for vindicating their legal rights, it’s virtually unheard of for an employer to sack an employee for bringing a compensation claim relating to an accident at work.

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Unfair Dismissal Compensation Claims

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