ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00010520
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A kitchen porter | A bar and restaurant |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 | CA-00013966-001 | 15/09/2017 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00013966-002 | 15/09/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 11/12/2017
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2014, following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.
The complainant attended the hearing at the Workplace Relations Commission on December 11th 2017, represented by Ann Conan of the Bray Citizen’s Information Centre. The respondent did not attend.
Background:
The respondent’s bar and restaurant business in Wicklow was closed down in March 2017. Having commenced employment on May 25th 2008, the complainant had 8.79 years of service. She earned €337.39 per week. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The complainant said that she did not receive a statutory redundancy payment. Secondly, she said she did not get statutory notice of redundancy of four weeks, based on her service of 8.79 years. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent did not attend the hearing and was not represented. |
Findings and Conclusions:
Complaint CA-00013966-001 under section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 Section 7(1) of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (amended) provides that; “An employee, if he is dismissed by his employer by reason of redundancy or is laid off or kept on short time for the minimum period, shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to the payment of moneys which shall be known as ….redundancy payment provided - a) he has been employed for the requisite period, and b) he was an employed contributor in employment which was insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts 1952 – 1966, immediately before the date of the termination of his employment or had ceased to be ordinarily employed in employment which was so insurable in the period of four years ending on that date.” The complainant had more than two years’ service with the respondent when the business closed down. Based on the information presented to me at the hearing, it is evident that she was in insurable employment and that she was made redundant with effect from March 5th 2017. She is therefore entitled to a statutory redundancy payment. Complaint CA-00013966-002 under section 11 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 Section 4(1)(c) of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act provides that; “if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for five years or more, but less than 10 years,” that employee is entitled to four weeks’ notice of termination. On this basis, as the complainant has more than eight years’ service with the respondent, she is entitled to four weeks’ notice. As she was not given her notice, she is entitled to payment in lieu. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2012 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.
Two complaints were submitted in respect of these matters, the non-payment of statutory redundancy and the non-payment of minimum notice. The other complaint is ADJ-00010521. From the evidence presented at the hearing, and specifically, from information on the complainant’s P45, it is apparent that the correct respondent is cited on ADJ-00010521. Therefore, redress must be sought in accordance with ADJ-00010521 and this complaint fails. |
Dated: 02 May 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
Statutory redundancy, minimum notice |