ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00002081
Complaint for Resolution:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00002826-001 | 24/02/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 31/05/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 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 submitted that following his return from sick leave his position was taken from him, and that he had been moved to a back office and effectively ignored by his employer. He submitted his complaint under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. |
Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:
The complainant was employed as a sales assistant since 12th May 2014. He returned from a period of sick leave on 7th December 2015. Due to the medication the complainant was taking he confirmed to the respondent that he was unable to operate the forklift. He was then given a position as a sales assistant in the office. It is submitted that the change to his original terms and conditions was made to facilitate the complainant and that no material disadvantage occurred.
Decision:
The complainant has a number of complaints against his employer but as he submitted them under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, I can only adjudicate on the relevant complaint submitted under that Act, that is the change in the complainant’s terms and conditions.
Section 3 of the Act obliges the employer to furnish the employee with written terms and conditions of employment. Section 5 of the Act obliges the employer to notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change in any of the particulars not later than one month after the change takes effect.
I note that a revised contract of employment stating his job title as “Sales E Net “ was presented to the complainant dated 10th February 2016. As this occurred after a period of one month following the change, the complainant’s complaint is well founded in the technical sense. However, following the Employment Appeals Tribunal logic in the Archbold v CMC (Ireland) Ltd TE05/2003, I find that having taken into account the comprehensive contract provided to the complainant the respondent complied with the spirit of the Act and no compensation can be justified in the circumstances.
Dated: 9 September 2016