EMPLOYMENT APPEALS TRIBUNAL
CLAIM OF: CASE NO.
Ester Masna UD1422/2012
against
Lyrath Estate Hotel (In Receivership)
under
UNFAIR DISMISSALS ACTS, 1977 TO 2007
I certify that the Tribunal
(Division of Tribunal)
Chairman: Mr N. Russell
Members: Mr J. Hennessy
Mr F. Dorgan
heard this claim at Kilkenny on 30th October 2014
Representation:
_______________
Claimant: In person
Respondent Ms Emma Dooley, HR Manager Lyrath Est Hotel & Convention
Centre, Dublin Road, (Now Paulstown Road R712), Kilkenny
Determination:
The Respondent informed the Tribunal that it did not dismiss the Claimant but did not roster her while she refused to pay her contribution for to renew and wear the new uniform which was an element in the rebranding of the Respondent’s Hotel Restaurant. The Claimant and her co-workers had previously made a payment towards the cost of their uniforms and this was the accepted practice in the Hotel.
The Claimant advised the Tribunal that she refused to contribute to the cost of her uniform because her daughter has ceased working at the Respondent’s Hotel and had given the Claimant her new uniform. She advised the Tribunal that she had offered to wear this uniform but was prohibited from doing so. This was disputed by the Respondent’s witness Mr. S. He informed the Tribunal that the Respondent would have adopted a pragmatic approach if such a suggestion was made by the Claimant. The issue was the obligation to wear the new uniform in the hotel’s restaurant and not how the uniform was sourced by an employee.
In order to resolve the conflict of evidence on this issue, the Tribunal looked to the correspondence exchanged between the parties. The Tribunal considered it significant that
nowhere in correspondence from the Claimant or her Legal Representative was any mention made of the Claimant having her daughter’s uniform available to her or of her willingness to wear this uniform.
In the latter part of the evidence before the Tribunal it was accepted by the Claimant that she tendered her resignation on the 8th of October 2014 and considered herself to be in the employment of the Respondent until that date.
A pre-requisite to bringing an Unfair Dismissal Claim is that employment has, in fact, been terminated. On the Claimant’s own evidence her employment was not terminated when she initiated her claim.
In the circumstances, the claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2001 fails.
Sealed with the Seal of the
Employment Appeals Tribunal
This ________________________
(Sgd.) ________________________
(CHAIRMAN)