ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00006794
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | A CAD Technician | A Consultant Engineers |
Complaint(s):
|
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-00009216-004 | 20/01/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 21/04/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gerry Rooney
Location of Hearing: The Ardboyne Hotel
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 (The Act), 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 a CAD Technician with the Respondent from 30th November 2016 to 14th December 2016. His salary was €30,000 per year. During a probation period the Respondent terminated the contract of employment. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant maintained that following his appointment he sought confirmation on his terms and conditions of employment. He alleged the Respondent terminated his employment on 14th December 2016 and failed to provide this information to him. The Complainant therefore has raised a complaint that the Respondent is in breach of Section 3 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 in that the Respondent has failed to provide him with a statement of his terms and conditions of employment. The Complaint also sought to raise other concerns at the hearing related to his treatment by the Respondent regarding payment of wages and his performance. As these complaints were not submitted by the Complainant to the WRC they were not considered. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent acknowledged that the Complainant was not provided with written terms and conditions of employment. The Respondent maintained that it was in the process of providing this information to the Complainant as it was being drafted. However the Respondent became concerned with key elements of the Complainant’s work where it contended that the Complainant’s performance and capability did not meet their expectations. Accordingly the Complainant was dismissed within two weeks of his appointment as the conditions of employment offered to the Complaint included a trial period of one month. The Respondent therefore argued that its legal obligations was to provide the information on the Complainant’s terms of employment within 2 months. However as the Complainant was no longer in employment after the first two weeks the Respondent argued that it had not breached the legislation. |
Findings and Conclusions:
This complaint has been made under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 and where the Complainant has alleged a breach Section 3 of the Act. Section 3 (1) of the Act requires that An employer shall, not later than 2 months after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing certain particulars. Section 3 (2) of the Act requires that a statement shall be given to an employee under subsection (1) notwithstanding that the employee’s employment ends before the end of the period within which the statement is required to be given. Section 3 (5) of the Act requires e that a copy of the said statement shall be retained by the employer during the period of the employee's employment and for a period of 1 year thereafter.
As the Respondent acknowledged that he did not provide a statement of the Terms of Employment to the Complainant, nor was one finalised, I find that the respondent is in Breach of Section 3 (1), (2), and (5) of the Act in that the Respondent, despite being asked by the Complainant for the statement failed to provide the statement within two months and where an employer is obliged to do so even if the employees contract ends before the two month period. I also find that the Respondent acknowledged at the hearing that it had no such statement finalised for the Complainant. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and Section 7 of the requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
In accordance with my powers under Sec 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 Act I therefore declare that the complaint was well founded in that the Respondent is in Breach of Section 3 (1) (2) and (5) of the Act. Taking all things into consideration I order the employer to pay to the employee compensation of two weeks salary based on €576.62 per week. |
Dated: 2/11/17
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gerry Rooney
Key Words:
Failure to provide a statement of the Terms of Employment |