ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00011694
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Permanent Civil Defence and Water Safety officer | Local Authority |
Representatives | Solicitors | Human Resources |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00015537-001 | 02/11/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 06/12/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marguerite Buckley
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015following 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.
Background:
The Claimant took up the role of Permanent Civil Defence Officer on the 1st January 2016. Clause 7 of his contract of Employment referred to Probation. The clause stated “A probationary period of twelve months from the date of permanent appointment will apply. The Chief Executive may at his/her discretion extend the period of probation…….” |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant was advised by the Director of Services in March 2017 that his probationary period which was to end on the 1st January 2017 had been extended for a further period of six months. On the 29th June 2017 he received a letter from the Director of Services that his probationary period was being extended for a further three months from the 1st July 2017. This resulted in a total probationary period of twenty-one months. The Complainant has since been notified that he has been made permanent. In addition, travel expenses were submitted by the Complainant, but these were not paid. The Complainant’s case is that the Respondent is in breach of Section 5 of the Act in that it did not notify the Complainant in writing of any changes to the particulars of his employment, namely the extension of this probation period or the failure to pay travel expenses. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent referred to Sections 3 and 7 of the Terms of the Employment (Information) Act 1994. The Complainants case was in relation to a probation term and travel allowances. The Respondent submitted that neither of these terms are identified under of the Act in relation to a requirement to provide details thereof or in relation to a requirement for notification of a change under the Act. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I have no power to adjudicate on general terms of employment. My only power is in relation to a complaint relative to the terms of employment set out in the Terms of the Employment (Information) Act 1994. A Probationary period clause is not listed in Section 3 of the Act. The complaint in relation to non-payment of travel expenses is a complaint under the Payment of Wages legislation. At the hearing, a suggestion was made that may resolve the Complainant’s issue, provided he re-calculate and re submit his travel expenses claim to the Respondent. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
The Complaint is not well founded. |
Dated: 05 March 2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marguerite Buckley
Key Words:
|