ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION & RECOMMENDATION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00011305

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	Beauty Therapist	Beauty Clinic

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-00015077-001	17/10/2017
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-002	17/10/2017
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-004	17/10/2017
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	CA-00015077-005	17/10/2017

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 20/03/2018

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015; Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 and/or Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969following 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).

This Adjudication is closely linked to Adj 11306 – a claim under the Unfair Dismissal Act,1977 between the same parties. An issue arose regarding the calling of witnesses, post the initial Hearing, which had the unfortunate effect of delaying the Adjudication Decision/Recommendation.

Background:

The issues concern a Beauty Therapist and a Beauty Clinic and relate primarily to alleged infringements of Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

1: Summary of Complainant’s Case:


Act	Complaint/Dispute Reference No.	Summary Complaint
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-001	No written Contract ever received by the Complainant.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-002	Not notified in writing as required of a change in Terms and Conditions of employment.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-004	A major change in Terms and Conditions of Employment - move from Weekly to Monthly pay was implemented without proper notification and consultation with the Complainant.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	CA-00015077-005	Bullying and Harassment of the Complainant by the Respondent. There is /was no formal procedure in the workplace.

2: Summary of Respondent’s Case:

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Summary Respondent defence.

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-001 No written Contract ever received by the Complainant.	Contract was issued early in the Employment Relationship but never signed by the Complainant. In default, any breaches of the Act were technical and minor in consequence.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-002 Not notified in writing as required of a change in Terms and Conditions of employment.	The basis of this Complaint is that on the 31st may 2017 the Complainant was notified that her working week was to reduce from a 5-day basis to a two and one half day basis. The Respondent contended that this reduction had been the subject of a number of discussions and was not a surprise to the Complainant. While Notice may not have been in writing, it had certainly been verbally clear cut.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-004 A major change in Terms and Conditions of Employment - move from Weekly to Monthly pay was implemented without proper notification and consultation with the Complainant.	While the change was suggested by the Respondent no major change occurred -weekly pay was continued for the duration of the employment -pay slips provided in evidence to support.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	CA-00015077-005 Bullying and Harassment of the Complainant by the Respondent. There is /was no formal procedure in the workplace.	No specific details are provided to substantiate this claim. Many general allegations were made but there is nothing specific on which the claim can be factually based.

The Respondent pointed to the fact that a Parallel Unfair Dismissal claim (Adj 11306) was also in contemplation. The Complainant was attempting to duplicate proceedings.

3: Findings and Conclusions:

As stated in the parallel Unfair Dismissal Act ,1977 complaint this case was marked by a high degree of personal antagonism between the parties. In final analysis, the Adjudicator was a forced to make a judgement call as to which version of events seemed most credible to him. Adjudicator Conclusions:
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-001 No written Contract ever received by the Complainant.	A written Contract was produced to the Hearing. It had not been signed by the Complainant who resolutely denied its existence prior to the Adjudication Hearing. Having listened to eh Evidence I came to the view that the Contract was a “late entrant” to the Proceedings. Accordingly, I find in the Complainant’s favour. However, in the overall context of this case nothing major turned on this document. A compensation award of €100 Euro is made in favour of the Complainant.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-002 Not notified in writing as required of a change in Terms and Conditions of employment.	It was clear that a change was being put in place but nothing formal in writing ever seemed to have been issued. The Breach of the Act was technical. A Compensation Award of € 100 is made in favour of the Complainant.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-004 A major change in Terms and Conditions of Employment - move from Weekly to Monthly pay was implemented without proper notification and consultation with the Complainant.	The evidence (pay slips) did not support this claim. Accordingly, I find against it.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	CA-00015077-005 Bullying and Harassment of the Complainant by the Respondent. There is /was no formal procedure in the workplace.	While it was clear that no Formal grievance or Disciplinary procedures existed in the Employment most of the issues raised formed part of the parallel Unfair Dismissal Act, 1977 complaint. They have been dealt with in that Adjudication- Adj 11306. I do not propose to revisit them under the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 in this Adjudication. The claim is set aside on this basis.

4: Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions of the cited Acts.

Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.

Act	Complaint/Dispute Reference No.	Summary decision. Detailed arguments are to be found in Section 3 above.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-001	I found a high probability that a Technical Breach of the Act had taken place here. An Award of €100 is made in favour of the Complainant.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-002	Again, a Technical breach of the Act in this specific instance. A Compensation Award of €100 is made in favour of the Complainant.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00015077-004	Evidence presented did not support this claim. Claim is dismissed.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	CA-00015077-005	Matters already considered under the Unfair Dismissals Act complaint. Adj 11306. Industrial Relations Act, 1969 complaint is set aside on these technical grounds.

Dated: 5.7.18

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee

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