ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00005265
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Supervisor Employee | An Employer |
Representatives | In person | No appearance |
Complaint(s)/Dispute(s) 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-00007351-001 | 28/09/2016 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 9 of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act, 1984. | CA-00007351-002 | 28/09/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 20/03/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Location of Hearing: The Mullingar Park Hotel
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 9 of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts, 1984 - 2012, 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 Complainant worked for the Respondent from 3 March 1996 until 7 May 2016, when she was made redundant. The fact of redundancy is accepted. The only issue to be determined is the start date of the employment and whether there was a break in service, for the purpose of the Redundancy Payment calculation. This was when the Complainant was on sick leave from November 2000 until March 2001. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant started working for the Respondent, then operating under a different trading name, in March 1996 In November 2000, she left work due to stress related illness and returned in March 2001. Other than this break, her service was unbroken The Complainant was informed in May 2016 that she was being made redundant. As the Respondent was not in a position to discharge its debts, the Complainant’s redundancy was paid by the Insolvency Fund however the calculation indicated that her employment, rather than being 20 years, was 15 years. This was because the Respondent claimed that there had been a break in service in November 2000 until March 2001. The Respondent claimed therefore that her employment started on her return in March 2001. The Complainant submitted that illness did not break her service and that the illness was stress related to her employment, therefore this should not be relied upon to break her service. Furthermore, in September 2014, at a time when the trading name of the Respondent was changing, the Complainant sought reassurance that her service would not be broken as a result of the change in trading name. The Respondent issued the Complainant a letter of assurance indicating that her service was unbroken going back to 1996. The Complainant stated further that the Revenue Commissioners had no indication on their records that her insurable employment continued during her period of illness. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
No appearance by Respondent |
Decision:
Having considered the evidence of the Complainant I am satisfied that she was made redundant by the Respondent and that she is entitled to a redundancy lump sum payment based on the following:
Date of Birth: 16 January 2016
Date of Commencement: 3 March 1996
Date of Termination: 7 May 2016
Gross weekly pay
Her employment was continuous and insurable.
I make this decision on the following bases:
Her illness did not cause a break in her service
As far as the Revenue Commissioners are concerned that her employment was continuous from 1996
The Respondent in 2014 assured the Complainant that they did not consider her service to have been broken by her period of absence from November 2000-March 2001.
The Complainant has already received the sum of € 13, 615.00 from the Insolvency Fund based on inaccurate start date of 20 March 2001. The sum already paid, should be set off as against the sum that she is entitled to.
Dated: 9th May 2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Key Words:
Redundancy – Whether illness breaks continuity of service |