ADJ-00018197

Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Chef

A Restaurant

Representatives

  In person

 Did not attend

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-00023442-001

22/11/2018

The complainant was employed by the respondent as a Chef from September 2015 until 11^th November 2018. The complainant’s working hours varied each week. The complainant is seeking her redundancy entitlements in circumstances where the respondent business closed at the location where the complainant was employed in November 2018.

The complainant was asked to submit additional information in relation to her working hours after the adjudication hearing. This additional information was received on 20^th June 2019.

The complainant stated that the respondent closed its business at the location where she was employed. The complainant confirmed that her last date of employment was 11^th November 2018. The complainant submits that she did not receive a redundancy lump sum payment and is seeking same.

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

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

The Applicable Law

The right to a Redundancy payment is set out in Section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967-2014. Section 7(1) and Section 7(2)(a) of the Act state as follows:

7.(1) 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 four years ending on that date.

(2) For the purposes 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 that 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, or

In the instant case, the business closed at the location where the complainant was employed. In accordance with Section 7(2)(a) of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2014 the complainant is entitled to a redundancy payment. As the complainant’s hours of worked varied each week, the weekly rate of pay is calculated on the basis of the average of the hours worked in the 52 weeks prior to the redundancy taking place.

Having considered complainant’s submission, I declare that the complaint is well founded. The complainant is entitled to a Redundancy payment based on the following information:

Date of commencement of employment: 2^nd September 2015

Date of cessation of employment: 11^th November 2018

Gross Weekly pay: €385.42

The entitlement to a redundancy payment is based on the complainant having been in insurable employment under the Social Welfare Acts during the relevant period.

Redundancy entitlement