ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00005131
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | An employee | A shipping company |
Complaint(s):
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-00006065-001 | 19/07/2016 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00006065-002 | 19/07/2016 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00006065-003 | 19/07/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 05/04/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: John Tierney
Location of Hearing: Room G.07 Lansdowne House
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 [and/or Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 - 2014 and/or Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 2015, and/or Section 9 of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts, 1984 - 2012, and/or Part VII of the Pensions Acts 1990 - 2015 and/or Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 - 2015, and/or Section 25 of the Equal Status Act, 2000, and/or Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969] 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
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
Prior to 1 June 2015 the Claimant acted as a consultant for company A which supplied services to company B. The Claimant invoiced for his services (copies provided).No employment relationship existed between the parties. He was offered employment with company C from I June 2015 (copies of contract and payroll records provided). In March 2015 due to lack of work, his role was no longer required. He was given two months’ notice as required by the contract. There was an exchange of correspondence between the parties between March and May 2016. The employment ended on 20 May 2016. As per his contract the Claimant had two days outstanding holidays due. This was paid as show in payslip of 27 May 2016. The Claimant did not have the required service under the Unfair Dismissal Act to take a case. In any event it was a redundancy situation. He did not have sufficient service to qualify for a redundancy payment. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Claimant is seeking payment of notice under the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act. He is also seeking payment for outstanding holidays and unfair dismissal. He worked as a contractor for the Respondent until March 2015 when he then became an employee of company C he performed his duties from then until May 2016. The Claimant believes a transfer of undertakings took place as his contracts were with the same company. In March 2016 he became aware that the company was in difficulty and had a discussion with the Respondent who tried to persuade him to leave. Furthermore, the Respondent discussed a ‘leaving package’ with him. At no time did he receive notice in writing as legally required by his contract. He became aware that he was no long employed when his pay did not go through in June. The Hearing afforded the Claimant a period to submit any supporting documentation to back up his claims. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
I have considered the submissions of the parties. From the evidence presented to me it appears that the Claimant did not fully realise from the conversations with the Respondent that his contract was being terminated and it would have been better if the Respondent confirmed this in writing. From the documentation submitted to me by the Respondent I am satisfied that the Claimant was paid his entitlements for holidays and notice as per his contact with company C. I further accept that the Claimant did not have the requisite service to qualify under the Unfair Dismissals Act. I therefore do not find his claims well founded and they fail. |
Date: 04 July 2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: John Tierney