ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00014289
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Warehouse Worker | A Food Wholesaler |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 | CA-00018646-001 | 22/04/2018 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 02/10/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Stephen Bonnlander
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 - 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 referred his complaint on 22 April 2018, alleging discrimination on the ground of race. It was originally scheduled to be heard, by a different Adjudication Officer, on 27 July 2018, but was postponed at the complainant’s request due to illness. It was delegated to me by the Director General on 24 August 2018 for investigation and decision. A joint hearing with the parties was scheduled for 2 Octobe4r 2018. In the meantime, the complainant had switched solicitors. A postponement request from his current solicitor was received on 20 September 2018, about a month after the hearing notification was sent to the parties, with the reason for the request given as the unavailability of a solicitor for the date in question. This request was refused by the Commission since it would have been possible to source alternative legal representation for the complainant. On the morning of the hearing, the complainant was not in attendance. The respondent was in attendance. I adjourned the matter for 24 hours to give the complainant an opportunity to explain his absence, but the complainant did not do so. |
Findings and Conclusions:
In the light of the foregoing, and in accordance with Section 79(6) of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015, I issue the following decision. As part of my investigation under Section 79 of the Act, I am obliged to hold a hearing. I find that the complainant’s failure to attend such a hearing was unreasonable in the circumstances and that any obligation under Section 79 has ceased. As no evidence was given at the hearing in support of the allegation of discrimination I conclude the investigation and find against the complainant. |
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 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under section 82 of the Act.
The respondent did not discriminate against the complainant on the ground of race contrary to the provisions of S. 8 of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015. |
Dated: 08/10/18
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Stephen Bonnlander
Key Words:
No show – no prima facie case. |