ADJ-00021389

Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

Technician

Employer

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-00027903-001

22/04/2019

The Complainant is seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967-2012, and has submitted that they did not receive any redundancy payment (CA-00027903-001).

The Complainant commenced employed with the Respondent Company as a Technician on the 11^th May 2015. The Complainants gross pay was €438.73 per week.

The Complainant stated in evidence that his role included the repairing of phones and laptops. The Complainant worked 34 hours per week for the first three years of his employment with the Respondent Company whereupon he reduced these working hours to 26 hours per week.    

On the 7^th February 2019, the Complainant reached an agreement with the Respondent Company in relation to unpaid salary. In that regard, the Respondent Company acknowledged that €3,366.00 was owed to the Complainant and was to be paid by 52 payments of €64.73 per week. However, the Complainant has received only two payments amounting to €129.46 to date.  

The Complainant was not paid any salary from the 18^th February 2019. The Complainant stated in evidence that the Respondent indicated he would not be paying any salaries from effectively the 10^th March 2019 onwards. The Complainant believed that his employer had left the jurisdiction and the Respondent Company had ceased to trade on or about April 2019

The Complainant commenced new employment on the 17^th June 2019.

The Complaint herein was received by the Workplace Relations Commission on the 22^nd April 2019. 

There was no appearance on behalf of the Respondent.

The Respondent was informed of the hearing of this matter by letter from the Workplace Relations Commission dated the 28^th May 2019.

However, I do note the contents of the letter dated the 7^th June 2019 sent by the Respondent to the Workplace Relations commission which appears to indicate the Respondent had returned to this jurisdiction on or about May 2019.

In the course of this hearing, I have carefully listened to the evidence tendered by the Complainant and I further note the contents of the email received from the parties with the attachments.

Section 7 (1) of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2012 states:

(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.

Section 7(2) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967-2012, 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…

 Section 7(5) of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 -2012, states-

(5) In this section requisite period means a period of 104 weeks continuous employment (within      the meaning of Schedule 3) of the employee by the employer who dismissed him, laid him off or kept him on short-time, but excluding any period of employment with that employer before the employee had attained the age of 16 years

In the circumstances of this case, I find that the Complainants employment was terminated as the Respondent Company ceased to trade on or about April 2009 and accordingly the Complainant was dismissed by reason of redundancy.

I find that the Complaint (CA-00027903) under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967-2012, is well founded and that the Complainant is entitled to a redundancy payment based on the following criteria:

Date of Commencement: 11^th May 2015

Date of Termination: 10^th March 2019

Gross Weekly Pay: €438.73

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

Redundancy