ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00002932
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | An Employee | Stud Farm |
Complaints:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00003535-001 | 22/03/2016 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00003535-002 | 22/03/2016 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00003535-003 | 22/03/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 15/08/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.
Background:
The Complainant contends that during the course of his employment, the Respondent required him to work Sundays without premium pay, that he was required to work excessive hours, and that he was not notified in writing of changes in his conditions of employment. A preliminary issue to be addressed concerned time limits for presentation of his complaints. The complaints were received and stamped by the Workplace Relations Commission on 22nd March 2016. The Complainant’s employment with the Respondent ended on 16th January 2015. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant stated that he tried to download and submit his complaints in January 2016. He stated that it was in or around 11th January 2016 that he first attempted to download the forms. He emailed the WRC on 18th January 2016 stating that he had problems with the system. He eventually received a hard copy of the forms and submitted them in March 2016. The Complainant states that this effort that he made to submit his complaints within a twelve month period should be accepted. He was unaware of the six month time limit and was of the belief that 12 months was the time limit. In any event, he submits that there was ‘reasonable cause’ for the time limit to be extended. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
It is submitted that the Workplace Relations Commission does not have jurisdiction to hear the Complainant’s complaints as they are time barred. Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 deals with the time limits for the categories of complaint which the Complainant has brought. Section 41(6) provides that a complaint must be brought within six months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates. Section 41(8) provides that this time limit can be extended in certain circumstances, but in no circumstances may it be extended by more than a further six months. Therefore, the maximum allowable period for a complaint to be brought from contravention is 12 months (assuming that the Complainant was able to demonstrate “reasonable cause” for an extension, which the Respondent disputes, and in any case the burden of proof lies with the Complainant to establish). Further, it should be noted that the Complainant entered into a binding agreement with the Respondent, dated 12 December 2014. By the terms of settlement, and as by his own admission in the complaint form, the Complainant’s last day of employment was 16 January 2015, which is the last day that a breach of the relevant Acts could have potentially occurred. Accordingly, even if the Complainant was to establish to the satisfaction of the Adjudication Officer that there was “reasonable cause” justifying the extension of the initial 6 month time limit, the Complainant had a strict outer limit of 12 months from 16 January 2015 to submit any complaint. As the Complainant did not submit his WRC complaint form until 22 March 2016, which is more than 14 months after his termination date, it is submitted that his complaint is time barred. It is noted that the Complainant made reference to having “initiated” his complaint before 15 January 2016. It is submitted that the Workplace Relations Act 2015 does not provide for any such term and the complaints are either submitted within the time limits allowed or not. They were not in the present instance. |
Findings and Conclusions:
Section 41 (6) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 provides: “(6) Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates”. Section 41 (8) of the Act provides: |
“(8) An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than 6 months after such expiration), as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause”.
The complaints in this case were stamped received by the Workplace Relations Commission on 22nd March 2016. It is common case that the Complainant’s employment with the Respondent ended on 16th January 2015. The import of Section 41 (8) is that in this instant case, to be entertained, the complaints would have to have been received by 15th January 2016 at the outer limit. The Complainant submitted that he put the WRC on notice on 18th January 2016 that he was having difficulty downloading the complaint form. I find that this does not constitute a referral or presentation of complaints. The detail and narrative of the Complainant’s complaints was received by the WRC on 22nd March 2016 and I deem them out of time and statute barred. I therefore decline jurisdiction in these complaints.
Decision:
The complaints are out of time and statute barred.
Dated: 5/9/17
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham