EMPLOYMENT APPEALS TRIBUNAL
APPEAL(S) OF: CASE NO.
Elaine Swanton RP296/2015
against
Wm Jones T/A Jones Douglas Post Office
and
Wm. Jones T/A Jones Douglas Post Office
under
REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS ACTS 1967 TO 2007
I certify that the Tribunal
(Division of Tribunal)
Chairman: Ms. K.T. O’Mahony BL
Members: Mr. D. Hegarty
Mr. J. Flavin
heard this appeal in Cork on 28 July 2016
Representation:
_______________
Appellant(s) :
Mr. John Tait, Anne Tait & Co, Solicitors,
7 St. Patrick’s Terrace, Douglas West, Cork
for
Ms. Eileen Murphy, Brendan Murphy & Company, Chartered
Accountants, 12 Douglas West, Douglas Village, Cork
Respondent(s) :
No legal representation
The decision of the Tribunal was as follows:-
The appellant claimed that her employment, which commenced on 1 January 2002, ended by reason of redundancy at the end of May 2015.
Summary of Evidence
The appellant was employed in the Douglas post office by Postmaster A from January 2002. On 25 March 2015 Postmaster A notified his staff in writing that he would be retiring as postmaster on or around 31 May 2015. In this notification Postmaster A also informed his staff that some or all of them might be offered employment by Postmaster B (the new postmaster) and that in any event their statutory entitlements would be secure.
The appellant worked with Postmaster A from January 2002 up until the end of May 2015 and continued working in the post office when it opened for business on Tuesday, 2 June 2015, immediately following the June bank holiday, under Postmaster B, he having offered her the employment on or around Thursday 28 May 2015. Her fellow workers had received redundancy payments from Postmaster A and she had not. Some of these employees later commenced employment with Postmaster B.
Determination:
The transfer of the Douglas post office from Postmaster A to Postmaster B constituted the transfer of an undertaking under the European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003. The appellant’s employment transferred to Postmaster B. By the operation of law, her employment is continuous and her past service with Postmaster A will be reckonable in any future redundancy that may arise. The appeal against Postmaster A under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 2007, fails.
Sealed with the Seal of the
Employment Appeals Tribunal
This ________________________
(Sgd.) ________________________
(CHAIRMAN)