Two crew members who were unfairly sacked from the Atlantic Dawn super trawler have been awarded a total of €39,000 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
It rejected Atlantic Dawn Ltd's claim that the men were not employees but shareholders whose contracts were with a separate company registered in Hong Kong. Atlantic Dawn Ltd was the men's "proper employer" and it had failed to comply with natural justice or fair procedures in sacking them, it found.
The two Donegal men, Mr Paul Boyle of Curraghfehin, Bruckless and Mr Kevin Sweeney, Kilraine, Glenties, were employed as factory workers on the vessel. They were dismissed following a row which took place during a crew members' trip from the Canary Islands to Donegal, in which both denied involvement.
Mr Sweeney said the first time he had heard of Marine Manning Services Ltd, the Hong Kong company with which he had a contract of employment, was after his dismissal.
He had understood that he was employed full-time on the vessel, had no knowledge of its financial affairs, and did not know that he was to get a share of the value of the catch, he said.
Mr Boyle told the tribunal he had been honoured to work on the Atlantic Dawn, but his remuneration was in the form of a fixed salary rather than a share in the value of the catch.
In its evidence to the tribunal, Atlantic Dawn Ltd said Marine Manning Services Ltd was engaged to employ staff to work on its vessels. It was made clear to all the crew, including Mr Boyle and Mr Sweeney, that they would be paid on a share basis.
Each crew member was expected to attend to their own tax and social welfare affairs and was not entitled to holiday or sick pay, the company confirmed.
However, the payment scheme was hit by unanticipated "teething problems", and the two men were each paid €3,000 a month on the vessel until things had "settled down".
This was not part of a share, but a payment on account, the company said, and when the share scheme kicked in each crew member received a balancing statement.
Mr Boyle and Mr Sweeney had both been suspended by then, so these statements were not issued to them.
Forms signed by the men were presented to the tribunal, which were stated to be contracts of employment between them and Marine Manning Services Ltd of Hong Kong. The contracts stated that disputes should be decided by Hong Kong law.
In its determination, the tribunal said all the documentation supplied to it by Atlantic Dawn Ltd referred to the two men as "employees".
It found that Atlantic Dawn Ltd was the employer and that the dismissals were unfair. It awarded Mr Sweeney €30,000 and Mr Boyle €9,000.
