ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00011974
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Teacher | Government Department |
Representatives | Self | Michael McNamara BL instructed by the Chief State Solicitor's Office |
Complaints:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 | CA-00015823-001 | 16/11/2017 |
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-00015823-002 | 16/11/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 07/11/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marie Flynn
Procedure:
In accordance with Part VII of the Pensions Acts 1990 - 2015 and Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015following 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 was removed from her post by the Minister for Education and Skills on 15th June 2015 following a statutory inquiry. The Complainant submitted a previous complaint to the Adjudication Services of the WRC under the Employment Equality Acts on 9th June 2016 in respect of her removal from office. The Adjudication Officer in that case found that the claim was out of time. The Adjudication Officer’s decision was appealed to the Labour Court. The Labour Court affirmed the decision of the Adjudication Officer and the appeal was disallowed. |
Preliminary Issues:
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent raised a number of preliminary issues, namely, time limits, Res Judicata and whether the correct Respondent was named in the complaint referral form. The Respondent also sought to have the complainants dismissed on the grounds that they were frivolous and vexatious. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant submits that the previous case only relates to a disability complaint whereas the herein case encompasses gender, disability, pension issues and victimisation. The Complainant further submits that the Labour Court determination in her previous case only relates to an act in 2015 whereas the herein case relates to ongoing discrimination and victimisation. |
Findings and Conclusions:
At the outset of the Adjudication Hearing, I explained to the parties that the first matter for me to decide was if I had jurisdiction to hear this case. I indicated that I would be dealing with the preliminary issues before hearing evidence in relation to the substantive matters. The Complainant objected to my proposed approach and said that she wished to deal with the substantive matters first and that by doing so the preliminary issues would become clear. She also objected to the number of representatives who were present on behalf of the Respondent. I explained that the composition of the Respondent’s representation was a matter for the Respondent. I also explained that it was not possible to deal with the substantive matters without first establishing if I had jurisdiction to hear the case and, accordingly, that I was obliged to hear evidence in relation to the preliminary issues before proceeding to the hear evidence in relation to the substantive matters. The Compliant then said that she was unable to continue and walked out of the hearing. Under Part VII of the Pensions Acts 1990 - 2015 and Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015, I am required to inquire 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. As no evidence was given at the hearing in support of the allegations of discrimination, I conclude the investigation and find against the complainant. |
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 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under section 82 of the Act.
In the absence of any evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaints are not well-founded and I decide accordingly. |
Dated: 11th December 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marie Flynn
Key Words:
Preliminary issues, no evidence given at the hearing |