ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00009347

Parties:

Complaint(s):

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 21/11/2017

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Jim O'Connell

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act,] 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).

Terms of Employment (information)Act 1994

CA-00012256—002

The claimant was employed by the respondent from the 20th March 2016 to the 29th June 2017 as Production Chef. He was paid €506.25 gross per week (€436.94 net) per week. It was submitted that the claimant never received a contract of employment. The respondent accepted that they did not provide the claimant with a contract.

Findings

Section 3 of the Act states

.—(1) An employer shall, not later than 2 months after the commencement of an employee's employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee's employment, that is to say—

(a) the full names of the employer and the employee,

(b) the address of the employer in the State or, where appropriate, the address of the principal place of the relevant business of the employer in the State or the registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963 ),

(c) the place of work or, where there is no fixed or main place of work, a statement specifying that the employee is required or permitted to work at various places,

(d) the title of the job or nature of the work for which the employee is employed,

(e) the date of commencement of the employee's contract of employment,

(f) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the expected duration thereof or, if the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the date on which the contract expires,

(g) the rate or method of calculation of the employee's remuneration,

(h) the length of the intervals between the times at which remuneration is paid, whether a week, a month or any other interval,

(i) any terms or conditions relating to hours of work (including overtime),

(j) any terms or conditions relating to paid leave (other than paid sick leave),

(k) any terms or conditions relating to—

(i) incapacity for work due to sickness or injury and paid sick leave, and

(ii) pensions and pension schemes,

(l) the period of notice which the employee is required to give and entitled to receive (whether by or under statute or under the terms of the employee's contract of employment) to determine the employee's contract of employment or, where this cannot be indicated when the information is given, the method for determining such periods of notice,

(m) a reference to any collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the employee's employment including, where the employer is not a party to such agreements, particulars of the bodies or institutions by whom they were made.

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 find the complaint to well founded and I award the claimant €500 in compensation

Unfair Dismissal act

CA 00012256-001

Background

The claimant was employed by the respondent from the 20th March 2016 to the 29th June 2017 as Production Chef. He was paid €506.25 gross per week (€436.94 net) per week. The respondent submitted that the organization was experiencing severe financial issues and steps had to be taken to reduce the wages bill. It was decided the food production area was where the cuts back would take place. The claimant was called to the office and informed that due to financial circumstances he was being made redundant and it was submitted that the claimant was informed that the redundancy was being applied on a last in First out. Since the claimant was the last in chef he was selected for redundancy. The respondent also submitted that all employees including the claimant were informed of the financial position of the organization. The claimant submitted that he was dismissed because of a complaint he had made. The respondent denied the claimant was penalised at any stage, The respondent further submitted that he was informed that he could work on until he had found another job.

Findings

I find that having listened to the points put forward by both parties. The respondent's financial position was well known. I find that in the circumstances a redundancy situation did exist and the claimant was made redundant accordingly. I find the claimant was chosen based on the last in first out principle.

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 find that based on the evidence as submitted I cannot support the claimants case and I uphold the respondent’s position.

Dated: 8th March 2018

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Jim O'Connell