ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00024323
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Merchandiser | A Merchandising Company |
Representatives |
| Lisa Weatherstone |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00031049-001 | 22/09/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/11/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Roger McGrath
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015,following 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 commenced employment with the Respondent in July 2015, as a Merchandiser on a casual basis. In 2018, the Complainant raised a grievance with the Respondent, regarding pay for Public Holidays. The Complainant lodged a complaint with the WRC on 22nd September 2019. |
Preliminary Issue
Summary of Respondent’s Case regarding the Preliminary Issue:
The Respondent submits that the Complainant last worked a shift for the Respondent in the week commencing 13th January 2019 but did not lodge a complaint with the WRC until 22nd September 2019, some eight months after his last shift with the Respondent. The Respondent submits that the complaint is outside the 6-month period allowed for complaints under the Act. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant had sought a WRC Inspection and believed he could not lodge a complaint while this process was on-going. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Complainant submitted his complaint to the WRC on 22nd September 2019. The complaint refers to a period before 13th January 2019. The Workplace Relations Act 2015 states in Section 41(6) the following, “Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates.” Accordingly, as this complaint relates to a period before six months of the date of submission of the complaint to the WRC and no reasonable cause was put forward to explain the delay in lodging the complaint, I deem the complaint to be out of time.
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Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
The complaint is not well founded. |
Dated: 14TH February 2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Roger McGrath
Key Words:
Out of time |