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-00025359-001

28/01/2019

Redundancy payment claim – outside the time limit

The complainant received notification dated 14th January, 2019 from the Redundancy and Insolvency Payments Section of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to say that she did not qualify for payment of Redundancy Lump Sum/Minimum Notice claims for two reasons – the claim was outside the time limit and that she was not in insurable employment at the relevant time. The complainant had exceptional personal circumstances which meant that she could not comply with the time limits.

Preliminary issue

The respondent believes that the claim is outside of the time limits in the Redundancy Payments Act.   Section 24 of the Act states;

(2A)   Where an employee who fails to make a claim for a lump sum within the period of 52 weeks mentioned in subsection (1) (as amended) makes such a claim before the end of the period of 104 weeks beginning on the date of dismissal or the date of termination of employment, the adjudication officer, if he is satisfied   that the employee would have been entitled to the lump sum and that the failure was due to a reasonable cause, may declare the employee to be entitled to the lump sum and the employee shall thereupon become so entitled.

(3)   Notwithstanding subsection (2A), where an employee establishes to the satisfaction of the Director General —

( a )   that failure to make a claim for a lump sum before the end of the period of 104 weeks mentioned in that subsection was caused by his ignorance of the identity of his employer or employers or by his ignorance of a change of employer involving his dismissal and engagement under a contract with another employer, and

( b )   that such ignorance arose out of or was contributed to by a breach of a statutory duty to give the employee either notice of his proposed dismissal or a redundancy certificate,

the period of 104 weeks shall commence from such date as the Director General at his discretion   considers reasonable having regard to all the circumstances.

Preliminary issue

The Complainant’s employment terminated in March 2013. Due to the failure of her employer to discharge the redundancy lump sum payment, an EAT determination issued in February 2014 awarding a redundancy lump payment to the Complainant, subject to her having the necessary insurable employment under the Social Welfare legislation. The Complainant received part payment of her redundancy payment from her employer-in July 2015. In July 2018 the Complainant discovered a liquidator was appointed to her former employer and thereafter sought payment through the redundancy payments section of the Department of Social Protection-redundancy and insolvency payments section.

By decision dated 14 January 2019, the redundancy and insolvency payments section of the Department of Social Protection rejected the lump sum application of the Complainant on the basis (a) that the Complainant was not in insurable employment at the date of redundancy, March 2013 and (b) that the RP50 form was submitted outside of a 12 month period from the date of termination of employment.

The Claim was lodged with the WRC on 28th January 2019, far in excess of 52 weeks, or even with an extension of time, 104 weeks, from the date of dismissal. There is no evidence to suggest that the failure to lodge the claim within that period was due to

‘ignorance of the identity of his employer or employers or by his ignorance of a change of employer involving his dismissal and engagement under a contract with another employer, and

( b )     that such ignorance arose out of or was contributed to by a breach of a statutory duty to give the employee either notice of his proposed dismissal or a redundancy certificate,  

I therefore do not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

As the claim was made outside of the statutory time limits I do not have jurisdiction to hear the case

Redundancy payment – time limits