Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Sales Assistant

A Retail Company

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

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

CA-00019861-001

19/06/2018

The complainant was employed by the respondent from 1st February 2005 until 27th January 2018. The complainant was employed as a Sales Assistant in a Ladies Boutique and was paid €11.46 gross per hour. The complainant’s employment ended when the Boutique closed in January 2018.

The complainant is seeking that she be paid her redundancy entitlements. The complainant stated that she spoke to her employer shortly before her employment ended and he assured her that she would be paid her redundancy entitlements when funds became available possibly within six months to a year. The complainant stated that she made several attempts to contact the respondent after her employment ended by text message and by letter and did not receive any response.

The respondent did not attend the adjudication and was not represented.

It is unfortunate that the respondent did not attend the adjudication hearing to put forward its position in relation to the complaint.

The Applicable Law

Section 7(1)(b) of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (amended) states as follows:

“An employee, if he is dismissed by his employer by reason of redundancy ……. shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to the payment of moneys which shall be known (and are in this Act referred to) as a redundancy payment provided –

(b) he was an employed contributor in employment which was insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts 1952 – 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 four years ending on that date.”

Section 7(2)(a) of the Act states:

For the purpose of subsection (1), an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be         dismissed by reason of redundancy if for one or more reasons not related to the employee concerned the dismissal is attributable wholly or mainly to –

(a)    the fact his employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him, or has ceased or intends to cease, to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed.

In the instant case, I am satisfied that the complainant’s employment ended by reason of redundancy on 27th January 2018.

The complaint is well founded. The complainant is entitled to a Redundancy payment as follows:

Employment Start Date: 1st February 2005

Employment End Date: 27th January 2018

Gross Weekly rate of pay: €183.36          

This award is made subject to the Complainant having been in insurable employment under the Department of Social Welfare Acts during the relevant period.

Redundancy Entitlements