ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00002687

Complaint(s)/Dispute(s) for Resolution:

Act	Complaint/Dispute Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991	CA-00002588-003	15/02/2016
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973	CA-00002588-004	15/02/2016

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 17/08/2016

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).

Attendance at Hearing:

By	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	A Recruitment Consultant	A Resourcing Company

Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:

The Complainant submitted complaints relating to pay and notice pay.

Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:

The Respondent requested an adjournment of the Hearing, which was not approved, and they were not present at the Hearing.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

The Complainant was employed from June 1^st 2011 to March 31^st 2015.

He submitted his claim to the WRC on February 15^th 2016. In this case the complaint was lodged approximately 11 months after the alleged date of contravention. Under Section 41.6 of the 2015 Workplace Relations Act a Complainant must submit their claim within six months of the date of contravention. This did not happen in this case. Under Section 41.8 of the Workplace relations 2015 Act an Adjudicator may consider if there was reasonable cause for the delay in submitting a claim up to a further six months from the date of contravention. The Complainant advised the reasons for the delay were that he was in contact with the Respondent to try and resolve the matter and that a parent was in poor health and was admitted to a Nursing Home. He also advised that from approximately April 2015 he had engaged a legal representative to pursue the claims. He stated in his complaint form that he fully understood he was leaving it late to submit his claim.

As the test for reasonable cause to grant an extension of time is quite high, I am satisfied that the circumstances in this case do not justify an extension of time, especially since the Complainant had been in receipt of legal advice two months after the alleged infringement of his rights. Therefore my decision is that the complaints are out of time under Section 41.6 of the 2015 Workplace Relations Act 2015.

Dated: 10^TH November 2016