ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION.
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00011900
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A facilities manager | A property management company |
Representatives | Clarke Jeffers & Co Solicitors | A&L Goodbody Solicitors |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00015808-001 | 14/11/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 11/09/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Jim Dolan
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and/or Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969 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 commenced employment with the Respondent company on 05/05/2015, her position was that of Facilities Manager at a third-party location. Things appeared to be going well and the Complainant states that she was happy at her work until around December 2016 when she had to start reporting to a new Country Manager. The Complainant eventually resigned from the Respondent on 07/07/2017 and lodged a complaint with the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on 14/11/2017. This complaint was referred under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. The specific complaint reads as follows: “Bullying and Harassment Procedures” |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant failed to attend the scheduled meeting and no correspondence was received in relation to this failure to attend until 13/09/2018. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent with legal representation were in attendance and prepared to proceed with the hearing. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The first day of hearing this complaint was 22/02/2018 at which all parties attended. The second day of hearing was scheduled for 11/09/2018, the Complainant did not attend and no word was heard from her legal representative until 13/09/2018. By letter dated 13/09/2018 the Complainant’s solicitor wrote to the WRC apologising for their failure to attend on 11/09/2018, it was there understanding that matters were to be adjourned. This letter goes onto state they were of the understanding that the solicitor for the Respondent company had written to the WRC on 02/08/2018 seeking an adjournment as one of their witnesses was not available on the scheduled date i.e. 11th September 2018. This letter then goes onto state: “We had thought that we had provided a response to the Respondent’s solicitor and WRC confirming that we had no objection to matters being adjourned, however on review of the file we note there was a genuine oversight and these letters were not sent”. The letters from the WRC notifying the parties of the hearing arrangements were sent on 01/08/2018. There is no letter on file dated 02/08/2018 (or any other date) from the Respondent’s solicitor requesting an adjournment in relation to the hearing scheduled for 11/09/2018. The Respondent’s legal team and witnesses were present as scheduled and quite prepared for the hearing. I have given considerable thought to this matter and feel I have no alternative but to fail the complaint for lack of prosecution. |
Decision:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
Complaint fails for lack of prosecution. |
Dated: October 2nd 2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Jim Dolan
Key Words:
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