ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00003241
Complaint(s)/Dispute(s) for Resolution:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 | CA-00004229-001 | 04/05/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 08/09/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 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 | An Administration Leader | A Community Company |
Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:
The Complainant was employed as an Administration Leader from July 1st 2011 and was made redundant on August 15th 2015. There is a precedent that has been created in the sector (precedents supplied) where she worked in that when employees were made redundant they received an enhanced package of 3 weeks plus statutory redundancy. The Complainant only received statutory redundancy and is seeking payment of the additional 3 weeks per year of service. The Complainant earned 500 Euro per week. |
Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:
The Respondent was 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. From the submissions on behalf of the Complainant it appears that an industry norm of paying three weeks extra ex gratia redundancy is paid to Social Workers. This was supported by Labour Court precedents. The Complainant should not be treated any differently. From prior cases the Respondent has pleaded inability to pay and this is not established in this case. If that is the case then the parties should jointly co-operate and contact the relevant funding authority on foot of this recommendation to seek the additional funding to pay the Complainant the industry norm for her role being made redundant of three weeks extra redundancy per year of service.
Dated: 23 November 2016