ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00003302

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties

Complaint(s):

Act	Complaint/Dispute Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 81(e) of the Pensions Act, 1990 as amended by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004	CA-00004490-001	16/05/2016

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 16/06/2017

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marguerite Buckley

Procedure:

In accordance with Part VII of the Pensions Acts 1990 - 2015 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 claimed that he has been discriminated against and victimised by the Respondent under Section 81 (e) of the Pensions Act, 1990 as amended by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (the “Act”).

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Trustees of the occupational pension scheme of which he is a member are and were employed by and under the direction of Xerox (Europe) Limited.

The Respondent is vicariously liable for the actions of its employees in their discriminatory administration of the Scheme and in their victimisation and discrimination against the complainant.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Respondent refuted in its entirety the claim of discrimination and submitted the claim should be struck out on two preliminary grounds:

a) That the Complainant’s claim had been brought against the incorrect Respondent, and

b) The Complainant’s claim was statute barred.

Findings and Conclusions:

The Complainant was employed by Xerox (Ireland) Limited until June 2009 not Xerox (Europe) Limited, the Respondent named in this complaint form.

The Complainant brought a separate claim under ADJ-00003251 against the Trustees of the Xerox (Ireland) Pension Scheme.

Decision:

Part VII of the Pensions Acts, 1990 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Part.

Section 81(E) (4) of the Pension Act 1990 sets out the parties against whom a claim can be brought.

‘the respondent’ means any or all of the following—

(a) the person who is alleged to have discriminated against the complainant in breach of the principle of equal pension treatment,

(b) the person who is responsible for admitting members to a scheme,

(c) the person who is alleged to be responsible for the victimisation and includes the trustees of an occupational benefit scheme.

The Respondent has had no relationship with the Complainant and does not fall within the definitions set out.

I have no jurisdiction to hear this complaint.

Dated: 3.11.2017

Key Words:

Occupational pension scheme + Incorrect Respondent