ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00002049
Complaint for Resolution:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 | CA-00002744-001 | 22/02/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 08/07/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 8(1B) of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977, following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.
Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:
The complainant worked as an administrator for the respondent from 5th January 1998 to 28th August 2015. She contends that she was unfairly dismissed by way of constructive dismissal following an altercation with her employer in the workplace on 28th August 2015. She recounted events from her point of view regarding a situation when she left the office to advise the supervisor that a test had been double booked. She contends that her employer spoke to her in an aggressive manner leaving her with no option but to leave the workplace. She had offered to train in a new employee, and was dismayed and annoyed to hear that the employer had taken on a new employee and said that it would only take a day or two to train him in. She felt that after over 15 years service, she was treated unfairly. |
Respondent’s Submission and Presentation
The respondent’s recollection differed from the complainant’s. He contends that she came out of the office and shouted in an aggressive manner “who double booked?”. She also made gestures of disrespect to her employer. It is contended she resigned of her own accord and it was necessary for the respondent to get someone in at short notice for end of month figures.
Decision:
There is no doubt there was a heated argument in the workplace on the day the complainant left her employment. It has been established that the onus is on the employer in those cases where the employee resigns “in the heat of the moment” to allow time for the situation to cool and to try and resolve issues, even if this means invoking disciplinary procedures if the employer deems the employee to have behaved in an unacceptable manner. In this case, I note the respondent made no effort to get the complainant to return and did not seek any resignation in writing. In the circumstances, I find that the respondent did not behave reasonably and I uphold the complainant’s claim of constructive dismissal. I note that there was some contributory factors from the complainant and I deem compensation in the amount of €7,000 to be fair and I require the respondent to pay to the complainant this sum in compensation for her unfair dismissal.
Dated: 10th October 2016