ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00004208
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Maintenance Worker | A Garage Employer |
Complaint(s)/Dispute(s) 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-00006213-001 | 01/08/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 21/03/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and/or Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015 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).
Background:
The Complaint is for unfair dismissal. The Respondent submitted that the wrong legal entity had been sued and that the party sued did not exist legally. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complaint is for unfair dismissal. The Complainant is Latvian and having not selected an interpreter in his online application, was unassisted at the hearing. He produced pay slips and a written contract both of which indicated that the employer cited in the complaint was not the correct name of the employer. He accepted that he had sued the wrong employer. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
As the wrong employer was cited on the complaint and the Complainant accepts this, there is no jurisdiction for the WRC to hear a complaint, the decision against which would be against a non existent company. |
Findings and Conclusions:
It is accepted as common case that the wrong Respondent, a non existent company, was cited on the complaint. |
Decision:
Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the unfair dismissal claim consisting of a grant of redress in accordance with section 7 of the 1977 Act.
Based on the acceptance by the Complainant that the wrong company has been sued and does not exist, there is no jurisdiction to hear this claim. Any decision issued against a non existent company is unenforceable.
This claim therefore, must fail.
Complainant was advised by the Adjudicator that he could issue fresh proceedings as the correct employer, although time limits will be likely raised by the Respondent at any subsequent hearing.
Dated: 04 April 2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Key Words:
Wrong name of Respondent cited on complaint |