ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00009260
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | General Operative | Service Provider |
Representatives | John Anderson McGovern Walsh Solicitors | John Brennan IBEC |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00012168-001 | 28/06/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 03/10/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The claimant was employed as a General Operative agency worker from the 3rd.June 2013 to the 16th.June 2017.He submitted the respondent was in breach of the Act for failing to furnish him with written terms and conditions of employment in accordance with the Act. He asserted that he had no direct dealing with Mr.McC who was responsible for issuing the contracts of employment and only dealt with Mr.BG – he maintained that he gave Mr.BG his bank details on commencement which enabled payment of wages but denied ever receiving the starter pack which had been submitted into evidence by the respondent. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent categorically denied that there had been any breach of the Act and insisted that the claimant was sent a starter pack – which included his terms and conditions of employment – in June 2013.A copy of the documentation which it was submitted had been sent by post was submitted into evidence. It was advanced that this was a “highly speculative claim” that should be dismissed and that the claimant at no stage raised an issue about his contract while in the employment of the respondent. It was submitted that the company’s postal log for the 18th.June 2013 supported the respondent’s contention that the starter pack was posted to the claimant on that date. A screen shot of entries made by Mr.McC who dealt with agency workers- dated the 17th.June 2017 was submitted by the respondent. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
I have reviewed the evidence presented at the hearing and noted the conflicting accounts of the claimant who asserted he had no direct dealings with Mr.McC and the accounts of the respondent who asserted that the documentation was sent to the claimant and that the claimant had no email address .Direct evidence was given by one of the respondent’s manager who asserted that he recalled the claimant’s recruitment as it was an unusual occurrence and he directed Mr.McC to issue the documentation by post rather than email as the claimant did not have an email address at the time. Having reviewed the evidence presented and noted in particular the paper trail presented by the respondent i.e. the post book and the systems log for the 17th.June 2013, I am satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that as a matter of practise the respondent did issue starter packs to their agency workers. As a consequence , I find against the claimant and do not uphold the complaint. |
Dated: 12th July 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea