ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00014218
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Medical Secretary | A Medical Centre |
Representatives | Cathal Mooney John Battles & Co. Solicitors | Not present |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00018545-001 | 17/04/2018 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 19/06/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following 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).
Background:
The Complainant was not paid her notice in line with the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant was employed as a Medical Secretary from September 9th 2016 to March 3rd 2018. She went on maternity leave on July 18th 2017 and notified her employer of same. She notified her employer of her intention to return to work on January 17th 2018 but was told she was no longer required due to restructuring. She was not paid redundancy. The Complainant tried to contact the Respondent by phone but her calls were not returned. The Complainants case is that she was dismissed while on maternity leave and not paid any notice in line with the 1973 Act. The Complainant earned on average 265 Euro per week. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent was not present at the Hearing.
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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.
Having considered the evidence of the Complainant and in the absence of the Respondent providing any contradictory evidence I find that the Complainants employment was terminated while on maternity leave without any notice period. Section 4. of the 1993 Act states that “the minimum notice to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of his employee is… ..(2a) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for less than two years ;one week”. Therefore I award the Complainant 265 Euros for the breach of the Act.
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Dated: 12th July 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Key Words:
Minimum Notice |