Owner of takeaway on Kildare/Laois border ordered to pay redundancy to former worker

THE former owner of Rocky’s Takeaway in Ballylinan  near the Kildare/Laois border was ordered to pay redundancy to a former employee who had worked at the takeaway for 11 years before being made redundant. The case was heard in the hearing rooms of the Workplace Relations Commission in Carlow on 16 March.

Ann Marie Murray brought a case against her former employer, Kieran Walsh. She claimed that she had not received the statutory redundancy payment she was entitled to when her employment ended.

Mr Walsh denied the claim in a written submission but did not attend the hearing.

Ms Murray testified that she began working for Rocky’s Takeaway on 9 April 2014. She worked for four years for a previous family member before working under Mr Walsh, who took over the business. Ms Murray said she did not receive a redundancy payment when Mr Walsh took over and she continued to work there.

The hearing was told that Ms Murray’s employment at Rocky’s Takeaway ended on the owner’s last day of trading, 2 August 2025. She provided evidence of her payslips, which showed that she worked 25 hours a week and was paid the minimum wage.

At the time, Ms Murray said that other members of staff were aware that the building lease was due to expire and that there had been ongoing discussions with a potential new owner. Ms Murray told the hearing that her former colleagues were all family members, who also did not continue employment under the new owner.

She concurred with Mr Walsh’s written submission that she did not meet the new owners of Rocky’s Takeaway. However, Ms Murray contradicted Mr Walsh’s assertion that she had left her employment with him a month before the new owner took over to take up a health service job.

Ms Murray submitted documentation to the hearing, which confirmed that she started her new employment on 11 August 2025, nine days after leaving her employment at Rocky’s Takeaway.

In his ruling, Seamus Clinton, Workplace Relations Commission adjudication officer, accepted Ms Murray’s evidence, which showed that she had started her new job on 11 August and that she had never met the new owner of the business. Mr Clinton was satisfied that Ms Murray had been made redundant and, as a result, said that she was entitled to a statutory redundancy payment.

The hearing was told that Mr Walsh’s business still has a normal status, according to the online company registration portal. Having a normal status means that the company is in good standing and actively trading.

Mr Clinton finished the ruling by declaring that Ms Murray was entitled to compensation from Mr Walsh on the basis that she began employment on 9 April 2014, finished employment on 2 August 2025, and that her gross weekly wage was €369.