ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00002934

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

 Date of Adjudication Hearing: 09/08/2016

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Joe Donnelly 

Procedure: 

In accordance with Section 41(4) 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: 

 Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:

 Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:

The target is inputted into a machine by a supervisor so that it produces that number of products in a specified time.

If a production worker has an issue in this regard they should take the matter up with their team leader.

The complainant manually readjusted the target on record forms. The number of items actually produced was less than it should have been.

There is no contractual right to a bonus. It is discretionary and dependent on plant production.

It is a term of the Incentive Scheme that any employee subject to disciplinary action during the plan year will not be paid the bonus.

Decision:

Section 41(4) 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.

Issues for Decision:

Did the respondent change the terms of the complainant’s employment without notifying him in writing of this change?

Legislation involved and requirements of legislation:

Section 3(1) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994, states:

An employer shall, not later than 2 months after the commencement of an employee’s employment with an employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the employees’s employment….

The particulars are then listed and include:

The name and address of the employer

The place of work

Title / nature of the job

Date of commencement

Duration of temporary contract

Reference to relevant registered employment agreement

Rate and reference period of pay

Reference to Minimum Wage Act

Whether paid weekly, monthly, etc.

Terms and conditions relating to hours of work, paid leave, sick leave / pay and pensions

Notice periods

Reference to relevant collective agreement

Section 5 of the Act states:

Subject to subsection (2), whenever a change is made or occurs in any of the particular of the statement furnished by the employer under section 3,4 or 6, the employer shall notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change as soon as may be thereafter, but not later than –

1. 1 month after the change takes effect

2.  

Decision: 

The complainant is employed as a Product Assembler by the respondent since November 2010. He works full-time and is paid €417.06 gross.

In January 2016 the complainant received a warning in relation to changing targets in relation to two production machines that he had responsibility for during his shift. The complainant said that he did this because the hourly production rate was, in his opinion, set at too high a level and that, as the company produced medical devices, the emphasis should be on quality and not quantity. This procedure in relation to targets did not form part of the complainant’s terms of employment and was not notified to the complainant. The warning also would deprive the complainant of a right to a bonus payment for 2016.

The respondent stated that the targets were set by the supervisor having regard to what had been achieved by previous shifts and were not unreasonable. Production during the complainant’s shift was less than targeted and the complainant had manually changed the targets on the form. He had not brought any difficulties to the attention of his team leader.   The complainant had received a verbal warning as a result of his actions. The Incentive Scheme rules had been agreed and circulated to staff in 2013 and included a clause in relation to the non-payment of the bonus to employees who were subject to disciplinary action during the relevant year. There was no guarantee of a bonus being paid as it was subject to plant performance.

Having carefully considered the submissions and evidence of the parties I find that the issue of production targets and their daily setting is an administrative matter and does not fall within the scope of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994. I also find that the rules governing the Incentive Scheme were agreed in 2013 and circulated to staff. In particular paragraph (g) states:

Any employee subject to disciplinary action during the plan year will become exempt from payment.

It is my belief that disputes in relation to these matters can be best progressed through the respondent’s grievance procedure.

In conclusion I find that the complaint under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994, is not well founded and accordingly fails.

Dated:   7/11/2016