ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00004592
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | An Employee | A Catering 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-00006502-001 | 17/08/2016 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00006502-002 | 17/08/2016 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00006502-003 | 17/08/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 25/04/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 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:
Jurisdiction – whether there is jurisdiction for the Adjudicator to hear a complaint when all the claims were compromised by way of a settlement agreement signed prior to the hearing |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant claims that she was unfairly dismissed, did not receive wages and was not paid minimum notice. The Complainant submitted that she was employed by two companies and has two letters which indicate that both companies state that they are her employers. Both companies are bound by the contents of these letters. She says that she accepts that on 12 December 2016 she settled her case against one company however she still wants to pursue a case against the other. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Adjudicator has no jurisdiction to entertain this complaint. A settlement agreement was entered into and signed on 12 December 2016 wherein the Complainant waived all rights to bring a claim, against the Respondent identified on the complaint form, under inter alia, the Unfair Dismissals Act, the Payment of Wages Act and the Minimum Notice and Terms of Conditions Act, being the claims cited in the complaint form. The Complainant received payment by way of a cheque in the sum of 6000.00 euro in consideration of this settlement agreement which she accepts that she received and cashed. Consequently as her rights as against this Respondent have been waived the Complainant has no rights to have a complaint under the Acts cited, against this Respondent, entertained. There is no jurisdiction to do so. |
Decision:
There is no jurisdiction for this claim to be heard as the claim has been compromised by way of a valid settlement agreement signed by the Complainant and Respondent on 12 December 2016. The Adjudicator is limited to considering the complaints brought by the Complainant under the Complaint reference numbers 6502 – 001, 6502-002, 6502 - 003 I am not considering any other complaints either made or not-yet-made against any Respondent other than the one cited in the complaints. In respect of the three complaints made against the Respondent, I find that the complaints have been compromised by a valid settlement agreement. Consequently there is no jurisdiction to hear this case. |
Dated: 17 May 2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Key Words:
Jurisdiction – settlement agreement – waiver of rights |