Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Training Manager

A Training Company

Representatives

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-00022235-001

28/09/2018

The complainant worked as a training manager with the respondent organisation, a company engaged in training for unemployed people and others with difficulties getting access to formal training. She was issued with notice of redundancy on August 17th 2018. Her complaint is that she did not receive a redundancy payment.

At the hearing, the complainant presented a copy of the contract of employment she received when she was promoted on April 18th 2018. The contract shows that her salary was €28,906, equivalent to €555.88 per week.

The complainant said that she went on holidays in the first two weeks of August 2017. At the end of the week before she went on leave, she was informed by her manager that there was no money to pay salaries.   She received no wages for the two weeks she was on holidays. On her return, on August 17th, the complainant said that she was called to a meeting with the chairperson of the organisation and she was informed that she was being made redundant. Her employment was terminated on September 6th. She was paid her salary for the two weeks she was on holidays and for every week up to the date of her termination.

The complainant said that she was informed that a liquidator had been appointed to the company and that the liquidator would deal with any entitlement to redundancy pay.   She then heard that a liquidator has not been appointed. She then requested a redundancy payment from the chairperson, who told her that the company’s accountants were dealing with this issue. Following her enquiries with the accountant, she was informed that the accounts for 2017 had not been completed and that he was not able to deal with her application for redundancy.

The respondent did not attend the hearing.

Section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 sets out five specific circumstances in which an employee may be entitled to a redundancy payment, the first of which is:

“(a) the fact his employer has ceased or intends to cease to carry on the business for the purpose of which the employee was employed by him, or has ceased or intends to cease to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed,”

As the complainant’s employer has ceased operations, her job has become redundant. At the hearing, she produced a letter in evidence dated August 17th 2018 which shows that it was the intention of the respondent to make her job redundant. On this basis, she is entitled to a redundancy payment.

Subject to her PRSI contribution status, I have decided that the complainant is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment, based on her service from April 23rd 2012 until September 6th 2018.

Redundancy