Zimbabwean Healthcare Workers Win Labour Court Awards in Ireland

Two Zimbabwean healthcare workers who travelled to Ireland after being offered jobs by Unity Healthcare, only to find the positions did not materialise, have been awarded more than €30,000 each following an upheld decision by Ireland’s Labour Court.

Tatenda Ncube and Brenda Mubaiwa were among nine Zimbabwean workers to take legal action through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The original rulings by the WRC awarded the nine workers a combined €273,780—or €30,420 each, representing the maximum compensation the commission could order—describing their treatment as particularly egregious.

Failed Contracts and Months of Uncertainty

The workers had accepted job offers from Unity Healthcare, a firm that held a contract with Tusla to provide emergency care for vulnerable children. They were told they would be stationed at a care centre located in Virginia, County Cavan. Upon arrival, however, the promised work was entirely absent.

According to the evidence presented, the workers stated they were left without employment or the necessary financial means to cover basic living expenses. One affected worker described periods of wondering where her next meal would come from. Compounding the hardship, the workers stated they were required to contribute financially in advance toward the cost of their work permits and accommodation.

Photo: Business Insider Africa

The situation remained unresolved for nearly a full year. The workers stated that Unity Healthcare only informed them almost a year after their arrival that the Tusla contract had been officially cancelled and no work would be forthcoming. Furthermore, the workers explained they were unable to secure alternative employment due to administrative delays by Unity in issuing required employment permit release letters, which under Irish regulations are mandatory before an individual can switch employers.

Labour Court Rejects Late Appeals

Unity Healthcare subsequently challenged the rulings before Ireland’s Labour Court. However, the court’s recent decisions addressed procedural failures in how the company filed its appeals.

In the cases of Ncube and Mubaiwa, the Labour Court found that the company’s appeals had been submitted one day past the statutory 42-day filing limit. Bruce Magama, a director of Unity Healthcare, informed the court that he had believed a firm of solicitors was managing the lodgment of the appeals. He stated he was informed just two days before the deadline that the firm would not proceed, leaving him to struggle and ultimately fail to complete the filings himself within the remaining timeframe.

Magama argued that these circumstances constituted “exceptional circumstances” required by the court to grant an extension of time. The Labour Court rejected this argument. In her written decision, Labour Court deputy chair Niamh McGowan stated that no valid explanation had been furnished to properly account for the delay.

“Insofar as excuses or reasons have been proffered, they do not, on any definition, amount to exceptional circumstances,” McGowan noted, concluding that a justifiable basis for extending the time limit had not been established.

Contrasting Rulings and Disputed Claims

The legal proceedings yielded differing outcomes across the broader group of claimants. A separate appeal involving another Zimbabwean worker, Silibaziso Nondo, was overturned by the Labour Court after it was established that she had successfully secured alternative employment with another company a month prior to the period covered by her specific complaint. The court found that this prior employment severed her employment relationship with Unity, thereby stripping the court of jurisdiction to consider her claim.

During the earlier WRC proceedings, representatives for Unity Healthcare asserted that the company had attempted to prevent the workers from travelling to Ireland once management realised the positions would no longer be available. The workers directly disputed this claim, maintaining they were already committed and out of pocket for travel and permit expenses by that stage.

Legal Body / Stage	Key Finding or Action	Outcome for Claimants
Workplace Relations Commission (WRC)	Ruled the treatment of workers was particularly egregious, awarding maximum statutory compensation.	Combined €273,780 awarded to nine workers (€30,420 each).
Labour Court (Ncube & Mubaiwa Appeals)	Appeals dismissed as out of time; company failed to demonstrate exceptional circumstances for a 1-day filing delay.	Awards of more than €30,000 each upheld.
Labour Court (Silibaziso Nondo Appeal)	Appeal upheld in favor of the company due to the worker securing alternative employment before the claim period.	Initial award overturned for lack of court jurisdiction.

Decisions concerning the remaining six worker cases, which were heard during subsequent sessions, have not yet been published by the Labour Court. During the initial WRC hearings, Pretty Ndawo of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland—an organisation that represented the workers alongside DJM Legal—publicly called for stronger regulatory protections for international workers entering Ireland under the employment permit framework.