ADJUDICATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00021171
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A General Practitioner | A Medical Practice |
Representatives | Self-Represented | No appearance |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00027815-001 | 17/04/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 09/09/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Procedure:
In accordance with 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 issues in contention concern a GP and a Medical Practice. An alleged Unfair Dismissal is contended. |
1: Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant ( A Foreign National) commenced work for the Medical Practice in late December 2018 ,initially on a Part Time basis but became full time on the 1st February 2019. The employment was conditional on the Complainant securing a Critical Skills permit which he had applied for in good time. Payments were irregular and he lodged a written complaint on the 7th of March . On the 28th March 2019 he was informed y the Practice Manager that his employment was being ended. On making a query to the Revenue the Complainant discovered that the Practice had ended his employment. In addition, he also discovered that his Application for the Critical Skills Permit had been stopped by the Respondent employer. The Complainant received no statutory notice or information of any kind from his employer. As a foreign national he was unable to claim SW benefits and was effectively left almost destitute. |
2: Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent employer did not attend the Oral Hearing or offer any mitigating explanations for the non-attendance. I was satisfied that proper notice had been served on the Respondent - letter of the 5th August refers. No rebuttal evidence of any sort was received. However, from an exchange of correspondence copied to the WRC by the Complainant (letters of the 8th March and 26 March respectively) it appeared that discussions had been underway in March regarding the status of the Complainant’s employment. It appeared that they had been inconclusive. None the less the fact remained that the evidence given by the Complainant to the Oral Hearing was unchallenged. |
3: Findings and Conclusions:
3:1 The Applicable Law In this case the law is set out in the Industrial Relations Act ,1969 supported by SI 146 of 2000 -Statutory Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures. In a case of a Dismissal the basic principles are those of Natural Justice. 3:2 Consideration of the Evidence From uncontested evidence it appears that there was no prior warning of a possible Dismissal and little or no discussions took place in relation to the matter. No Appeal was offered. The contract of Employment (dated the 11th January 2019) submitted by the Complainant appeared to confirm employment status. The Unfair Dismissals Act,1977 - Section 7 – while not applicable to this case due to the lack of the required 12 months service indicates that any award for Redress should be “ just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances ”. The Complainant has now secured employment and estimated that he was out of work for a period of some two months. 3:3 Final Conclusion and Recommendation Accordingly , having considered all the evidence before me and based on the salary information contained in the Contract of Employment submitted, I Recommend as Redress for the Dismissal the sum of €17,600 - being approximately two months’ pay. |
4: Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
Taking all evidence into account I recommend that two month’s pay be paid to the Complainant as Redress for the Unfair Dismissal.
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Summary Recommendation. |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00027815-001 | I recommend that the sum of €17,600 be paid to the Complainant as Redress for the Unfair Dismissal. |
Dated: 16/10/19
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
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