ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00004855
Complaint for Resolution:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 | CA-00006759-001 | 26/08/2016 |
Venue: Ardboyne Hotel, Navan, Co. Meath
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 16/11/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: John Walsh
Procedure:
Under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 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.
Background:
The complainant was employed as demonstrator from the 15th of December 2005 to the 28th of August 2014. She was paid an average of €181.65 gross per week. She worked an average of 21 hours per week. She alleges that the Respondent failed to pay her Redundancy Entitlements on the termination of her employment. She filed a complaint with the Workplace Relations Commission on the 26th of August 2016.
Complainant’s Submission:
The following is a summary of the Complainant’s submission:
That her employment terminated on the 28th of August 2014. That recently she found out that a number of her colleagues were paid redundancy payments in July of that year. As she did not receive any redundancy payments, she made inquiries and found out that the company had gone into liquidation and that the liquidator had paid some of her colleagues their Redundancy Entitlements. That she is now seeking payment from the liquidator in relation to her Redundancy Entitlements. She has calculated her Redundancy Entitlements as follows:
- 4/10/1958
Employment Start Date: 15/12/2005
Date of Notice of Termination: 9/8/2014
Employment End Date: 28/8/2014
Gross Weekly Wage: €181.65
Wage Ceiling Prevailing at the Time: €600
Calculation of Statutory Service:
Years: 8
Days: 259
- 8.71
Weeks Due: 17.42
Plus Bonus Week: 1
Total Weeks: 18.42
Redundancy Entitlements:
Statutory Entitlement: 18.42 x €181.65 = €3345.99
That she was never advised by the Respondent of any Transfer of Undertaking taking place from the respondent to another company. She did join the other company on the 25th of October, 2014 after she successfully completed the recruitment process with the other company for a position of Product Demonstrator on behalf of other company’s clients. This can be confirmed with the HR manager in the other company Ms. A.O’M.
If she was aware that there was a Transfer of Undertaking did take place at the time, she would have considered her options in relation to her employment and/or her redundancy.
Respondent’s Submission:
The Liquidator did not attend at the hearing. I note that he was not advised that the hearing was arranged for the 16th of November 2016.
Findings:
Based on the uncontested evidence presented at the hearing, I find as follows;
It would appear that the Complainant was not advised within 30 days that a Transfer of Undertaking was to take place between the respondent and other company. It appears that she only discovered this information when a number of her colleagues made her aware of it.
The Complainant was terminated from her employment on the 28th of August 2014 and the Respondent failed to pay her Redundancy Entitlements in line with the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967.
Decision:
Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
Based on the uncontested evidence presented at the hearing, I find that the complaint is well-founded. I order the Liquidator to pay to the Complainant her Redundancy Entitlements of €3345.99 in line with Section 19(1) of the Redundancy Payment Act, 1967. This payment should be paid to the Complainant within 6 weeks of the date of this decision.
Dated: 29 March 2017