The Labour Court upheld €5,000 compensation for Radu Labionschi after Knockmaroon Estates Company appealed three working-time findings. The determination was signed on 8 July 2016. The Court affirmed findings that the company denied him daily rest, Sunday-work compensation and the limit on average weekly hours.
Labionschi worked as a caretaker from January 2010 to October 2014, earning €407.22 a week and living on the estate. He said he had to remain available at all hours to tend animals and respond to the family’s requests, including driving family members and guests. The company said he could take time off and that airport trips were voluntary.
The Court treated his required availability as working time because he could not freely use that time and had to comply with the family’s directions. It found he could not take an 11-hour break between shifts or avoid averaging more than 48 hours a week. The company had not kept required working-time records or proved that additional time off compensated him for Sunday duties. The separate section 12 complaint was not considered because neither side appealed that decision; the merits were not decided.