Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

An Employee

An Employer

Representatives

Fleur O'Shea, ByrneWallace Solicitors

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00010784-001

11/04/2017

The Complainant commenced employment with the Respondent on or about 15 December 2015. The Respondent lives in London but returns to Ireland regularly, to spend time at their property here.

The Respondent recruited the Complainant to work as a groundsman/herdsman/caretaker on the property.

The Complainant did not attend the Hearing. Consequently, detail of the complaint is taken directly from his WRC complaint form.

The Complainant stated that he resigned his position on 1 February 2017, giving two months’ notice to 31 March 2017. Following a series of interactions between the Complainant and the Respondent, in relation to an exact date of resignation, it was finally agreed that the Complainant would resign with effect from 3 March 2017.

The Complainant claims that the Respondent refused to provide him with his pay or holiday pay as set out in his contract of employment.

The Respondent attended the hearing. They were accompanied at the hearing by a legal representative, who provided a comprehensive response to the Complainant's complaint. However, in the absence of submission from the Complainant on the day, the Respondent's submission is set out below in summary form only.

The Respondent's legal representative asserts, on behalf of the Respondent that the Complainant's complaints are ill founded for the following reasons:

1) The Complainant has now been paid, in full, in accordance with the contractual entitlements, for all work carried out up to and including 2 March 2017. In addition, one day’s annual leave is being paid in relation to 3 March 2017.

2) The Complainant did not work between 4 March and 31 March 2017 (inclusive) and, accordingly, has no right to demand payment for this period.

3) While the Complainant has asserted, in his complaint form, that the Respondent failed to make a payment in respect of any accrued, but untaken, holiday leave entitlement existing as at the date of termination, he has not invoked the jurisdiction of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997.

In these circumstances, it is asserted that the Adjudication Officer does not have jurisdiction to consider this head of complaint.

However, for the avoidance of doubt the Respondent asserts that they has complied with their obligations to the Complainant in this regard. According to the Respondent, the Complainant received a payment in respect of any accrued but untaken annual leave entitlement existing as of 4 March 2017,.

As the Complainant failed to attend, having been duly advised, and prosecute his complaint, no findings can be made.

I find that the case fails for lack of prosecution.