A woman who was left feeling "shattered" after her first year as general manager of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been awarded €30,000 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
It found that Ms Beate Riehn suffered severe stress in the job and was constructively dismissed.
In a separate case, the tribunal awarded €48,000 to a woman who was unfairly sacked by the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
It found that Ms Carmel Raymond-Hoey, who was administrator of the society's dog warden service, was not fairly selected for redundancy.
In the DSPCA case, Ms Riehn told the tribunal that she experienced "open hostility" from the outset of her employment in February 2000, particularly from one named employee.
She felt she was always on trial and was given no support by the society's committee.
At the end of her first year in the job, Ms Riehn said, she felt "shattered" and not very good about herself.
Her distress at the lack of concern shown to her was compounded by an increased workload, including some inappropriate but time-consuming tasks of a menial nature.
Ms Riehn said she was given a verbal promise that a professional fund-raiser would be appointed to alleviate her work situation.
However, she returned from holiday to find that the committee had changed its mind and a "fund consultant" would be appointed instead.
This would have increased her workload further and left her feeling "totally victimised and violently sick".
She consulted her doctor, who advised her to take time off work.
After eight weeks out, she felt well enough to return. She was assured that her job was still there for her, but after many meetings with management had failed to secure an acceptable basis for her to return to work.
She began to feel uneasy about the situation and decided that she had no option but to constructively dismiss herself.
A witness for the DSPCA told the tribunal that Ms Riehn was offered extra administrative assistance but did not respond.
After her absence through illness, she sought a permanent contract, instead of the fixed three-year term that was in place.
In the event, the committee concluded that it should continue without a general manager, and it was decided to make Ms Riehn redundant.
The tribunal said the stress suffered by Ms Riehn should have been noticed by her employer and should not have been allowed to continue for as long as it did without any positive intervention.
In the case ISPCA case, the society said Ms Raymond-Hoey was made redundant following a restructuring of the organisation.
However, the tribunal said there had been no consultation with Ms Raymond-Hoey, and the society had no procedures in place for the redundancy. It found that she was unfairly dismissed.
