In Ireland, a former farm manager suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), by decision of the Labor Relations Commission (WRC) of April 8, should receive more than 31,000 euros after he was “unfairly fired” by his farmer employer.

The manager was fired from his post in June 2018, when a farmer allegedly told him that most people with his condition “would have fallen from the edge of the table.” The employer also told the manager that if he gets a disability “now”, he will have a “better quality of life”, and if they meet at the table 10 years later, the farmer hopes that the manager can do without outside help or a wheelchair.

However, during the proceedings, the farmer stated that he did not say such words. The applicant was diagnosed with MS in 2004, and he immediately reported this to his employer; According to the manager, he never missed a job because of his condition, with the exception of three days seven years ago. The former manager worked as a manager, including transporting materials, driving vehicles and operating equipment.

The reason the farmer indicated the dismissal of the applicant was that there was an “insurance problem” with his condition and the next month, July 2018, the farmer stopped paying his salary. In August, the manager visited his place of work with letters from the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) and his neurologist. Both of these letters said that the state of the man allows him to perform his usual work.

The applicant also claimed that he had not been warned of his dismissal and, thus, was deprived of the opportunity to express his point of view on the termination of employment. By its decision, the court ordered the farmer to pay the applicant 29,000 euros for an unfair dismissal, that is, a salary for one year, and 2,240 euros for the fact that he did not provide the manager with a contract or a copy of his working conditions.