EMPLOYMENT APPEALS TRIBUNAL
CASE NO.
UD2413/2011
WT275/2012
CLAIM(S) OF:
Annemone Der
- Claimant
against
Aldi Stores Ireland Limited
- Respondent
under
UNFAIR DISMISSALS ACTS 1977 TO 2007
ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME ACT 1997
I certify that the Tribunal
(Division of Tribunal)
Chairman: Ms. K. T. O'Mahony B.L.
Members: Mr J. Browne
Mr F. Dorgan
heard this claim at Wexford on 15th July 2016
Representation:
Claimant: In Person
Respondent: Mr. Paul Binchy BL instructed by: Vincent & Beatty, Solicitors, 67/68 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2
The determination of the Tribunal was as follows:-
Counsel for the respondent raised preliminary issues in respect of the jurisdiction of the Employment Appeals Tribunal to hear the claims under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 2007 and the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1991.
Preliminary Issue No. 1
1 The respondent contended that by virtue of section 101(2)(b) of the Equality Act 1977 as amended the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear the claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007.
Summary of Facts
The claimant was dismissed on 10 August 2011.
On 30 November 2011 (subsequent to her dismissal) the claimant, referred a case to the Equality Tribunal pursuant to section 77(1) of the Employment Equality Act, 1977 as amended by the 1998 Equality Act, claiming compensation for alleged discrimination in her employment including a claim that she had been dismissed in circumstances amounting to discrimination.
The Equality Tribunal heard the claimant’s complaint on 22 July 2014. In its decision dated 11 December 2014 the Equality Tribunal dismissed all of the claimant’s complaints including her complaint that she had been dismissed in circumstances amounting to discrimination.
Determination
Section 101(2) of the Equality Act 1977 as amended (which was in force at the time the claimant made her claim to the Equality Tribunal on 2 December 2011) provides:
“Where an individual has referred a case to the Director (of the Equality Tribunal) under section 77(1) and either a settlement has been reached by mediation or the Director has begun an investigation under section 79, the individual –
(a) Shall not be entitled to recover damages at common law in respect of the case, and
(b) If he or she was dismissed before so referring the case, shall not be entitled to seek redress (or to exercise, to continue to exercise, any other power) under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 1993 in respect of the dismissal unless the Director, having completed the investigation and in an appropriate case, directs otherwise and so notifies the complainant and respondent”.
The Tribunal finds that the claimant is not entitled to seek redress under the Unfair Dismissals Acts as she had been dismissed before she referred her case to the Equality Tribunal and an investigation under the Equality Acts having been commenced and completed that Tribunal did not direct to the contrary.
Accordingly, the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007.
Preliminary Issue No. 2
The second preliminary issue related to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction under section 40 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997.
Determination
The Tribunal’s jurisdiction under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 is confined to claims in relation to holidays under Part 111 of the Act. The alleged breaches in the claim before the Tribunal relate to working hours and rest breaks. Accordingly, the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the claims under section 40 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997.
Sealed with the Seal of the
Employment Appeals Tribunal
This ________________________
(Sgd.) ________________________
(CHAIRMAN)