ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00019420
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Pizza Chef | A Food Service |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00025382-001 | 29/01/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 09/10/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).
Background:
The Complainant was employed as a Pizza Chef and was dismissed after she complained a colleague about a physical altercation. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant was employed as a Pizza Chef from January 2nd 2019 to January 29th 2019. She stated she was physically attacked by a Co-Worker at work. She informed management but they did nothing about the incident. She also went to the Garda to complain about the incident but nothing has happened since she notified them. She saw CCTV evidence of the attack from other people but did not know them. She was transferred to another location but on return that evening for personal belongings she was again confronted physically by the same person. She then suffered abuse from other staff calling her a racist. She was going to hand in her resignation but the owner dismissed her. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
A Complaint was received by the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission by the Complainant on January 29th 2019 alleging that her former employer dismissed her without cause and did not investigate allegations she made of bullying and racism . The said complaint was referred to me for investigation. A Hearing for that purpose was held on October 9th 2019. There was no appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent at the Hearing. I am satisfied that the said Respondent was informed in writing of the date, time and place at which the Hearing to investigate the complaint would be held and were not present at the Hearing. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
The Complainant was asked by the Adjudicator a number of times as to what she expected from the Hearing but did not receive any specific reply. The Complainant was also informed of the voluntary nature of the Industrial Relations Act. The Complainant was informed that once a particular matter had been reported to the Garda it was no longer an industrial relations issue. The Complainant could not identify the names of the staff she said racially abused her or what was said. I recommend that the Complainant set out in writing in detail, her allegations of bullying and provide them to the Respondent within four weeks of today’s date and the Respondent should then investigate these complaints and provide a report back to the Complainant within four weeks of receiving the complaints. |
Dated: 12/11/19
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien
Key Words:
Bullying |