Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Childcare Manager/Childcare Practitioner

A Creche

Representatives

Act

Complaint Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967

CA-00019209-001

16/05/2018

The complainant worked at the creche as a Manager until it was burned down and never reopened.   Her claim is that she is entitled to redundancy.

The complainant commenced employment on 18th May 2009 and during the St Patricks weekend a fire destroyed the building. The creche never reopened as it was badly destroyed, and the complainant’s employment was terminated on 31st March 2017. The respondent told her that she cannot afford to pay redundancy and that there had been delays owing to the respondent’s difficulties with the insurance company.

The respondent conceded that a redundancy situation existed but that she could not afford to pay it. The respondent confirmed and allowed a correction to the name and address of the respondent and outlined that there had been confusion with some correspondence as it had been sent to an incorrect address.

It is detailed that that “Where an employee who fails to make a claim for a lump sum within the period of 52 weeks mentioned in subsection (1) (as amended) makes such a claim before the end of the period of 104 weeks beginning on the date of dismissal or the date of termination of employment, the Tribunal, if it is satisfied that the employee would have been entitled to the lump sum and that the failure was due to a reasonable cause, may declare the employee to be entitled to the lump sum and the employee shall thereupon become so entitled.”

The employment ended on 31st March 2017 and the claim received on 16 May 2018. Based on the evidence, the Complainant has shown that the delay in lodging her complaint was due to “reasonable cause”.

Section 7(1) provides that:

An employee, if he is dismissed by his employer by reason of redundancy or is laid off or kept on short-time for the minimum period, shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to the payment of moneys which shall be known (and are in this Act referred to) as redundancy payment provided—

(a) he has been employed for the requisite period, and

(b) he was an employed contributor in employment which was insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966, immediately before the date of the termination of his employment, or had ceased to be ordinarily employed in employment which was so insurable in the period of two years ending on that date. 

The creche had to close owing to a fire and the complainant’s position was made redundant.

Based on all the evidence, the claim succeeds.

In respect of the redundancy payment claim, based on the evidence, I find that the appeal under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2007 succeeds and award the appellant a redundancy lump sum based on the following:

Date of Commencement:             18 May 2009

Date of Termination:                      31 March 2017

Gross Weekly Pay:                          €563.39

This award is subject to the appellant having been in employment which is insurable for all purposes under the Social Welfare Consolidation Acts.

Inability to pay, redundancy