ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00017332

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	Driver	Logistics and Transport Company

Representatives

Michael McNamara, BL

Kate Hughes, Solicitor

Complaints:

Act	Complaint/Dispute Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977	CA-00022443-001	05/10/2018
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967	CA-00022443-002	05/10/2018
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973	CA-00022443-003	05/10/2018

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 29/10/2019

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 2015,Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 and Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act 1973,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.

Background:

The Complainant contends that he was unfairly dismissed without due process, and that he did not receive his statutory entitlement to minimum notice. The claim for redundancy is not valid as the Complainant’s position was not made redundant.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant was employed as a Driver from 1st August 2001 to 29th August 2018. He was dismissed on 29th August 2018 by the Depot Manager who informed him that there were changes being made and that there was no work for him going forward. He contends that this was an unfair dismissal as there was no warning, no disciplinary process and no right to appeal the decision to dismiss him. The Complainant accepts there were some warnings and corrective meetings up to 2015 but cannot recall any following that date. He denied that he would refuse to complete runs. On 29th August 2018 he was told to leave the premises immediately and was not given statutory notice.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Depot Manager, gave evidence of the Complainant’s history of employment with the company. He stated that there had been issues with the Complainant’s performance since 2010 and he was given a verbal warning on 21st January 2010 by the Transport Manager. There were also other issues, including damage to company vehicle due to an accident and serious damage one time when a trailer had to be written off. The Complainant had further accidents or incidents or issues in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Each time there was a transgression on the Complainant’s part, a corrective procedure meeting was held with him. There were also many issues with the Complainant’s deliveries record. There were numerous complaints from customers regarding non deliveries and deliveries had to be dispatched again the following day. The Complainant was dismissed for poor performance and poor attitude to work.

Findings and Conclusions:

CA-00022443-001

The Complainant was dismissed without due process. It has long been established that in accordance with Statutory Instrument S.I. 146 of 2000, employees have the right to fair hearing, to be represented and the right of appeal. In this case, none of these rights were afforded the Complainant. I find that he was therefore unfairly dismissed. I note there was a history of unsatisfactory performance, but the most recent documentation dates back to 2015.

CA-00022443-002

The Complainant’s position was not made redundant and I find that he is not therefore entitled to a statutory redundancy payment.

CA-00022443-003

The Complainant is entitled to eight weeks’ minimum notice. The Respondent was not in a position to advise the hearing of any payment in lieu of such notice. I have decided therefore that the Complainant’s complaint is well founded and I require the Respondent to pay to the Complainant the sum of €3,400.

Decision:

CA-00022443-001

I have decided that the Complainant was unfairly dismissed and that compensation is the appropriate remedy. I note that he secured employment some time after his dismissal and I have taken that into account. I require the Respondent to pay to the Complainant the sum of €4,000.

CA-00022443-002

The Complainant’s position was not made redundant and I find that he is not therefore entitled to a statutory redundancy payment.

CA-00022443-003

I have decided that the Complainant’s complaint is well founded and I require the Respondent to pay to the Complainant the sum of €3,400.

Dated: 17th December 2019

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Gaye Cunningham

Key Words:

Unfair Dismissal, No Due Process