EMPLOYMENT APPEALS TRIBUNAL
APPEAL OF: CASE NO.
EMPLOYEE RP1237/2012
MN972/2012
against
EMPLOYER
under
MINIMUM NOTICE AND TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT ACTS, 1973 TO 2005
REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS ACTS, 1967 TO 2007
I certify that the Tribunal
(Division of Tribunal)
Chairman: Ms. P. McGrath B.L.
Members: Ms. A. Gaule
Mr. S. O'Donnell
heard this appeal at Dublin on 23rd January 2014
Representation:
Appellant:
In person
Respondent:
John Duggan, Solicitor, Callan Tansey Solicitors, Boyle, Co. Roscommon.
Respondent’s case:
The respondent is an employment agency/contract cleaner and the appellant was employed by them as a cleaner and placed in a food processing plant in Drogheda. The claimant also lived in Drogheda. It was unclear as to how long the appellant worked in Drogheda but he had worked previously in Longford.
An issue arose whereby the claimant was refusing to take instruction from a supervisor within the plant and the respondent felt that the best way to resolve the situation was to switch the claimant to a plant in Longford and bring a person from the Longford plant to Drogheda. The appellant refused the offer to switch to working in Longford, some 60-70 miles away, and chose to resign instead.
The respondent’s position was that there was not a redundancy situation but that the appellant chose to resign of his own volition.
Appellant’s case:
The appellant lived and worked in Drogheda for some time and it was his position that it was unreasonable of the respondent to expect him to travel approximately 70 miles to work in Longford. He shared accommodation with his son, who also worked in Drogheda and the appellant was not in a position to move his home to Longford. The appellant refused the offer of work in Longford and sought payment of a redundancy lump sum from the respondent.
Determination:
The appellant was replaced in his cleaning position in one plant and asked to take up a position in another one 70 miles away. The proposition was untenable to the claimant and he was not in a position to take up the job on offer.
On the face of it the Tribunal would accept the proposition was unreasonable and the subsequent resignation may have amounted to constructive dismissal. Unfortunately for the claimant he never brought a claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts and in fact his claim was one of redundancy. This was never a redundancy situation where the job was disposed of.
Therefore this appeal under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 2007 fails.
The claimant resigned his position without giving notice to the respondent and therefore is not entitled to receive notice of termination of employment from the respondent. Accordingly the appeal under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 2005 fails.
Sealed with the Seal of the
Employment Appeals Tribunal
This ________________________
(Sgd.) ________________________
(CHAIRMAN)