ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00014927

Complaint:

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-00019384-001	23/05/2018

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 15/10/2018

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.

Background:

The Complainant was employed as a General Operative from 2nd December 2017 to 7th April 2018. He was paid €10.50 per hour and worked a minimum of 39 hours per week. He has claimed that he did not get a written contract of employment within the first two months of his employment. He has sought compensation.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant’s Representative stated that he did not receive a written statement of his terms and conditions of employment within two months after commencement of employment. His union official contacted the Respondent to advise them of this. The Respondent offered to provide the written statement and offered €200 in settlement. The union then received a signed copy of his terms and conditions of employment. The Complainant stated that he had never seen this document before and had not signed it. He has claimed that the Respondent has breached Sec 3 of this Act and he has sought compensation.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Respondent did not attend and was not represented at this hearing. A letter from the Respondent to his union official was presented at the hearing which states that the Complainant was given a written statement of his terms and conditions of employment on 2nd February 2018 and he had signed it.

Findings and Conclusions:

I note that the Respondent did not attend and was not represented.

I note correspondence on file advising the Respondent of the venue, date and time of this hearing.

Based on the uncontested evidence before this hearing I find as follows:

I note that the Complainant is stating that he did not get a written statement of his terms and conditions of employment.

I note the contents of the Respondent’s letter advising that a written statement was issued and signed by the Complainant on 2nd February 2018

I am obliged to accept the direct evidence of the Complainant and so on the balance of probability I accept that he did not receive a written statement of his terms and conditions of employment.

I therefore find that the Respondent has breached Sec 3 of this Act.

Sec 3 (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”

I find that compensation is warranted.

Sec 7 (2) (d) of the Act states, ”compensation of such an amount (if any) as is just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances but not exceeding 4 weeks remuneration”.

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.

I have decided that the Respondent has breached Sec 3 of this Act.

I require the Respondent to pay the Complainant compensation of €850 within six weeks of the date below.

Dated: 29/11/2018

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly

Key Words:

Not issued with a contract of employment within the first two months of employment.