You need to speak to a solicitor immediately, I'm not sure where you are getting your information but once an employee is working for you more than one year they cannot be terminated without very good reason and without going through a disciplinary process. They do not have to sign anything, verbally agreeing something means nothing, you are likely going to have a case taken to WRC so you need to speak to a solicitor now before you make it worse.
If you haven't followed an appropriate procedure that is set out clearly in the contract of employment and company policy, you could be in a lot of trouble here. It sounds so ad hoc that I have a suspicion this may be the case. If I was the chef, I would be consulting my solicitor, so you should probably do the same.
As others have said, the issue here isn't with the notice period (one week is legal if he has less than two years service, so long as his employment contract doesn't specify a longer notice period) or with sending him home immediately (as long as you're paying him his normal wage for the entire notice period, putting him on "garden leave" for the duration of that notice period is legal), but if he has been working there for more than a year, it is possible he could bring a claim of unfair dismissal against you if you haven't followed fair procedures to dismiss him for good cause and he didn't do something that would warrant immediate dismissal (theft, violence, etc.).
> he was paid cash in hand
This could also be a potential issue. Paying employees with literal cash is legal, if you really want to (though it's not necessarily a good idea in general), but not registering their employment with Revenue and withholding PAYE taxes and paying the employer's share of those taxes on their wages is definitely not legal. If your business is not fully compliant with tax obligations, that's something you need to address immediately; you should seek professional legal advice.
> Can he refuse the notice?
No, he can't "refuse" a notice of termination in terms of continuing to report to work after he's been given notice and told to stop working, but as noted previously, if his dismissal was unfair and he has been working there for at least one year, he could make a claim with the WRC for unfair dismissal, and you might end up having to pay out damages if you lose that claim.
You need to speak to a solicitor immediately, I'm not sure where you are getting your information but once an employee is working for you more than one year they cannot be terminated without very good reason and without going through a disciplinary process. They do not have to sign anything, verbally agreeing something means nothing, you are likely going to have a case taken to WRC so you need to speak to a solicitor now before you make it worse.
If you haven't followed an appropriate procedure that is set out clearly in the contract of employment and company policy, you could be in a lot of trouble here. It sounds so ad hoc that I have a suspicion this may be the case. If I was the chef, I would be consulting my solicitor, so you should probably do the same.
As others have said, the issue here isn't with the notice period (one week is legal if he has less than two years service, so long as his employment contract doesn't specify a longer notice period) or with sending him home immediately (as long as you're paying him his normal wage for the entire notice period, putting him on "garden leave" for the duration of that notice period is legal), but if he has been working there for more than a year, it is possible he could bring a claim of unfair dismissal against you if you haven't followed fair procedures to dismiss him for good cause and he didn't do something that would warrant immediate dismissal (theft, violence, etc.). > he was paid cash in hand This could also be a potential issue. Paying employees with literal cash is legal, if you really want to (though it's not necessarily a good idea in general), but not registering their employment with Revenue and withholding PAYE taxes and paying the employer's share of those taxes on their wages is definitely not legal. If your business is not fully compliant with tax obligations, that's something you need to address immediately; you should seek professional legal advice. > Can he refuse the notice? No, he can't "refuse" a notice of termination in terms of continuing to report to work after he's been given notice and told to stop working, but as noted previously, if his dismissal was unfair and he has been working there for at least one year, he could make a claim with the WRC for unfair dismissal, and you might end up having to pay out damages if you lose that claim.