ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00013386
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Worker | Service Provider |
Representatives | Citizens Information Service | The respondent did not attend and was not represented at the hearing |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00017614-001 | 23/02/2018 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00017614-002 | 23/02/2018 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 08/08/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 [and/or Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991and/or Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969] 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).
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The claimant was employed as a Housekeeping/Deli/Shop Assistant by the respondent from the 26th.June 2017 – 5th.Feb. 2018 The claimant was advised in the week preceding the 5th.Feb. 2018that she was being assigned a marketing role and would be contacting 6,000 contacts to promote the residential services for the summer months. The claimant had received no training on this type of work and when her manager overheard her making the call to the first person on the list , he complained that she was not doing it properly- she responded that she did not feel comfortable doing this work as she was employed as a Shop/Deli Assistant .He responded this was now her role and asked “ do you want this job or not?” . The claimant submitted that she got upset and started to cry and the manager responded to stop crying , return the key card and leave the premises. The claimant’s representative set out a chronology of the ensuing correspondence between the parties .It was submitted that the staff handbook contains a detailed grievance and disciplinary procedure which had been ignored by the respondent - it was submitted that the fact that the claimant was still on probation did not negate the respondent from following fair procedures and the provisions of LCR 21028 were invoked in support of that contention “ the Court has consistently held that an employer is not relieved of the obligation to act fairly during a probationary period and that the requirement of the Code of Practise applies in all circumstances in which a worker is on hazard of having his or her employment terminated for alleged misconduct”. It was submitted that the claimant incurred losses of €2,470 while out of employment. It was submitted that the respondent was in breach of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 for failing to pay the claimant her contractual entitlement of 4 weeks notice. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent did not attend and was not represented at the hearing |
Recommendation
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the Dispute
On the basis of the uncontested evidence of the claimant , I have concluded that the claimant was unfairly dismissed without any regard to fair procedures or the provisions of SI 146/2000.I recommend the respondent pay the claimant €2,470 compensation within 4 weeks of the date of this recommendation
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.
Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.
On the basis of the uncontested evidence of the claimant I find the complaint regarding the non payment of notice to be well founded and require the respondent to pay the claimant €1,760 compensation within 4 weeks of the date of this decision.
Dated: 6th November 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea