ADJ-00004636

Complainant

Respondent

Parties

A Multi-task attendant

A Hospital Department

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-00006520-001

18/08/2016

The Complainant was a multi task attendant involved in cleaning and catering with the Respondent.

The Complainant’s employment started on the 30^th of August 2007 and ended on the 20^th of August 2016.

The Complainant’s case is that she did not receive a contract of employment. She received a fixed term contract in 2007 and in 2008 and she received nothing since.

The Respondent’s case is that the Complainant was employed on an “if and when required” contract. She did receive a number of these contracts over the term of her employment. She was offered employment on a regular basis based on her availability.   Support services management facilitate the Complainant’s request to return full time education. They offered her work at weekends and holiday times to facilitate her studies. This suited both parties.

The Complainant advised that she would work on a more regular basis in August 2015 and a letter issued to her on the 19^th of August 2015 indicating that she would be working thirty nine hours per week for the foreseeable future.

A written contract of employment was prepared for her for the period 4^th of August 2016 to the 23^rd of February 2017. This was available in the office for her to sign. The Complainant never called to the office to sign it.

The Complainant resigned on the 24^th of August 2016 effective from that date.

The Respondent accepted that the Complainant was not issued with a written statement of her terms and conditions to cover the period of her employment. However an application to extend her employment on their IT system was submitted on a six monthly basis. This facilitated her pay, working hours, annual leave accrual etc.  

The Respondent acknowledged that in March 2016 the Complainant did raise a query about her contract of employment and discussion took place with regard to offering her a contract of indefinite duration. The Complainant was issued with a conversion to permanency pack at that time.   The Complainant did not engage in that process and did not return any of the required documentation.   Consequently the Complainant’s contract of indefinite duration has not progressed.

The Respondent also noted the Complainant did not raise any internal grievance as to her concerns.

I have reviewed the first contract of employment for relief staff provided to the Complainant.

Despite containing a number of blanks e.g. in the paragraphs headed “Remuneration” and “Annual Leave” the contract is signed both by the Complainant and a representative of the Respondent in September 2007.

In the 2010 contract for relief staff there paragraph headed “Remuneration” was filled out however the points on the scale and increment dates were blank.   Also the frequency of payment was blank.

No other details of terms of employment were provided to the Complainant.   The Complainant was not aware that there was a contract for her in the office awaiting her signature.

The Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 provides for the implementation of Directive 91/533/EEC of the Counsel of the European Communities on employer’s obligation to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the contract or employment relationship.

Employers are required to provide employees with documentation notifying them of the “essential aspects” of their contract no later than two months after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer.

The Respondent has by its own admission failed to comply with the requirements of the Act. Therefore, I find that the case is well founded and order the Respondent to pay to the Complainant having regard to the facts of the case the sum of €1,500.00.