ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00019029
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Worker | A Bank |
Representatives |
| Arthur Cox Solicitors |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00024670-001 | 03/01/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 01/04/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Niamh O'Carroll Kelly
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969following 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.
Respondent’s preliminary point:
The complainant is not an employee of the respondent. The complainant’s contract of employment is between the complainant and a third party, HN. She signed the contract on the 10th September. The respondent is a client of HN and HN provides staff for the respondent. Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act sets out that where there is a trade dispute involving workers ,the parties to the dispute may bring the matter to the rights commission. Section 14 defines a trade dispute as “as dispute or difference between employer and workers”. The respondent was never the complainant’s employer and therefore the WRC do not have jurisdiction to hear the complaint. |
Complainant’s reply to respondent’s preliminary point:
The complainant states that she only ever dealt with a lady who worked for the respondent. She feels that due to her dealing with the lady, she was employed by the respondent. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The complainant’s contract of employment clearly states that it is between the complainant and HN and that HN is engaged by the respondent on a consultancy basis to provide personnel. On that basis I find the complainant was not an employee of the respondent. Section 13 clearly envisages an employee/employer relationship. Furthermore, the complainant’s contract of employment sets out a grievance procedure which states “If you have any grievance which you consider to be genuine in respect of your employment, the matter should be raised either verbally or in writing with the Company’s Account Manager as the circumstances warrant”. Any complaint the complainant had should have been raised with her employer HN first and prior to her bringing her claim to the WRC. In the circumstances I find that I do not have jurisdiction to hear the dispute. |
Decision:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
For the reasons set out above, I do not have jurisdiction to hear the within claim. |
Dated: 12th June 2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Niamh O'Carroll Kelly
Key Words:
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