Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

An Apprentice Electrician

An Electrical Contractor

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973

CA-00026478-001

22/02/2019

This complaint is about the non-payment of notice at the end of a four-year apprenticeship.

On June 1st, 2014, the complainant joined the respondent company as an apprentice electrician. He completed the seventh and final phase of his apprenticeship on October 19th 2018. On the same day, he got a phone call from the contracts manager in company, letting him know that he would be finishing up that day.

The complainant finished up on October 19th. The following week, he received his wages that were due and payment for holidays not taken. He didn’t receive any pay in lieu of notice and, when he contacted the accounts office, he was informed that no notice pay was due.

Mr Nolan argued that while the employer in this case may have had the intention of terminating the complainant’s employment on completion of his apprenticeship, this was not clear. He said that the issuing of notice should be formal and in writing, in the same manner as a statement of terms and conditions of employment. The complainant said that he could not recall any discussion with his former employer about finishing up at the end of his apprenticeship.

For the respondent, the contracts manager said that he received correspondence from the Education and Training Board (ETB) / Solas informing him that the complainant had successfully completed the sixth phase of his apprenticeship and that he was beginning the seventh and final phase on July 24th 2019. The manager said that he had a meeting with the complainant on August 16th at their site office in Dublin airport and he told him that he would be finishing up with them at the end of his apprenticeship.   On September 28th, the company received another letter from ETB/Solas confirming receipt of the complainant’s phase 7 assessment. The manager said that it was clear then that the complainant would finish up at the end of the week in which he completed his apprenticeship, which was October 19th.

The complainant’s case is that, having completed four years of service with the respondent, he was entitled to two weeks’ notice of the termination of his employment. The respondent’s case is that, at a meeting on August 16th, he got eight weeks’ notice. The complainant said that he has no recollection of that meeting.

The Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act does not specify that notice must be in writing.   It seems to me however, that an employer who gives notice to an employee that their employment will be terminated on an imminent date, should ensure that the employee receives this information with a degree of certainty. I can’t think of any other way to provide this certainty than to put the notice in writing. Alternatively, there could to be a written and shared record of the discussion at which an employee is issued with notice.

I accept that the respondent said that he has around 50 apprentices in his company and that his policy is to let them all go at the end of their apprenticeships, and the complainant could not have been unaware of this. However, from August 16th, when he met the complainant and October 19th, when he finished up, it appears that there was no contact with the complainant about the fact that his last day at work was going to be October 19th. While I acknowledge that there is no legal requirement to issue notice in writing, I think that, at a minimum, rather than leave it until his last day, the respondent should have contacted the complainant at least two weeks beforehand, to confirm that his employment was being terminated.

I have concluded that the complainant was not issued with proper notice that his employment was terminating. As he had worked for more than four years with the respondent, he was entitled to two weeks’ notice. It was agreed at the hearing that the complainant’s weekly wages were €951.50.   I decide therefore that the respondent is to pay the complainant €1,903.20 gross, in lieu of two weeks’ notice.

Pay in lieu of notice