ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00009853
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Crèche Manager | A Crèche & Montessori |
Complaint(s):
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-00012922-001 | 02/08/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 21/09/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Ray Flaherty
Procedure:
In accordance with Section39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 - 2014 and 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 commenced work with the Respondent on 18 July 2011, in the role of crèche manager. The Complainant went on carers leave in January 2017 and was due to return to work the following July.
Over a weekend in March 2017, a fire occurred in the crèche building which resulted in closure of the day care element of the service provided. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant is seeking redundancy as a result of the closure of the crèche. The Complainant stated that she was informed by the Respondent that the redundancy would be paid from the claim which had been submitted to the insurance company, as a result of the fire.
The Complainant stated that she was not given any guarantee that the redundancy would be paid and she had no written evidence of being made redundant.
The Complainant further stated that when she informed the Respondent she was submitting her RP50 and RP70 forms for statutory redundancy, the Respondent indicated that she (the Complainant) will be the last person to get payment, as there were a lot of other bills that will be given priority. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent provided details in relation to the fire and the difficulties it had caused to the business.
The Respondent submitted that, while she had no issue in relation to paying redundancy, the business could not afford to make the redundancy payment other than through the insurance claim. |
Findings and Conclusions:
Having carefully considered the evidence adduced in this case, I am satisfied that a genuine redundancy situation exists and the Complainant is entitled to statutory redundancy based on her service and salary as calculated under the normal redundancy formula. |
Decision:
Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2012 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.
Having carefully considered all the evidence adduced and based on the considerations/findings as detailed above, I find in favour of the Complainant and uphold her claim for statutory redundancy. |
Dated: 14 February 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Ray Flaherty
Key Words:
Redundancy Inability to pay |