ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00018858

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	A Shop Assistant (2)	A Shop Owner

Complaint:

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-00024202-001	17/12/2018

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 25/04/2019

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: James Kelly

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 - 2014following 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.

At the time the adjudication was scheduled to commence, it became apparent that there was no appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent. I verified that the Respondent had been served with notification of the time, date and venue of the adjudication. I was satisfied that notification had been sent to the correct address, as provided to the WRC. I waited some time to accommodate a late arrival. Having taken these steps, I proceeded with the adjudication in the absence of the Respondent.

Background:

The Complainant is seeking her entitlement to a redundancy lump sum payment.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant commenced employment as a Shop Assistant on 20 June 2006. She claims that she worked different hours per week but usually 6 hours up until the end of her employment on 7 October 2018 and was paid €58.50 gross per week. The Complainant said that the Owner was continually saying that the shop was not doing well and that he might close. The Complainant said he mentioned it to her on 23 September 2018, but no formal notice was given. A public notice was placed at the till and door to inform customers that the shop was closing down.

She claims that her employer was not very helpful. Multiple requests were made on it, but no information was given. He made no offer of alternative work or redundancy. She said he told her the business was finished, her job was gone. Accordingly, she felt she had no option but to pursue a case with the Workplace Relations Commission.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Respondent did not engage nor attend the hearing.

Findings and Conclusions:

Section 7(2) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967, states:

For the purposes of subsection (1), an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to have been 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 in the place where the employee was so employed, or

(b) The fact that the requirements of that business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where he was so employed have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish…

From the evidence before me, I find that the Complainant’s was in employment with the Respondent when the shop where she was working closed. I find that no alternative job offer was made by the Respondent, and as a result, the Complainant’s employment ceased. The Complainant was accordingly dismissed by reason of redundancy. I deem that the delay in submitting this complaint to the WRC was primarily down to the Respondent’s lack of information and assistance.

Accordingly, I find that, pursuant to the Redundancy Payment Acts, the Complainant is entitled to a statutory redundancy.

Decision:

Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2012 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.

I decide that, pursuant to the Redundancy Payment Acts, the Complainant’s case is well founded, and she is entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment calculated as per the following criteria:

Date of commencement of employment: 20 June 2006

Date of notice of termination of employment: 07 October 2018

Date of end of employment: 07 October 2018

Weekly gross pay: €58.50 (6 hours per week in the relevant period)

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

Dated: 23/07/2019

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: James Kelly

Key Words:

Redundancy Payment Acts - well founded - entitled to a statutory redundancy