ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00024687
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A General Operative | A Food Processing Company |
Representatives |
| IBEC |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint 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-00031360-001 | 04/10/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 21/01/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: James Kelly
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following 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 Complainant claims that he was not paid his annual leave entitlement. The Respondent said it completed the payment when he raised the issue with them, therefore the case is moot. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant is a Polish national and commenced employment with the Respondent on 24 September 2007. His employment ended on 17 July 2019. The Complainant said that when he finished working with the Respondent, he was owed for his annual leave accrued. He said that he sent many emails and letters to the Respondent but got no reply or payment. The Complainant said that he sent the within complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission on the 4 October 2019. He confirmed that following this he received a letter from the Respondent and payment of the moneys owned to him up to the 17 July 2019. The Complainant said he believes he is entitled to accrue annual leave entitlements from 17 July 2019 until he was paid the money owed to him in October 2019. He raised the issue that his employer delayed making payment of the money owing to him and it was only paid having had to take a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. The Complainant also raised matters about severance pay and not getting any responses to his letters and emails. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent said that the Complainant was an employee with it for a number of years. The Respondent said that it met with him in May 2019 with regard to the viability of his continued employment. The Respondent said that he was on continued absence from work from 27 June 2017 on medical grounds. The most recent medical opinion was that he was not fit to return to work with the Respondent. It said that the Complainant accepted that position and he was given 6 weeks’ notice and the date of cessation of employment was 12 July 2019. The Respondent said that it made an error on the payment of his accrued annual leave, it apologised for the delay and put that right soon after. The Respondent said that it does not owe the Complainant any money beyond the cessation of his employment. The Respondent said that there is no severance pay. He was deemed unfit to fulfil his duties and the medical evidence is that that will not change. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Complainant claims that the Respondent failed to pay his outstanding annual leave entitlements on the termination of his employment contrary to the provisions of Section 23 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. The Complainant’s employment ended on the 17 July 2019 and he submitted his complaint to the WRC on 4 October 2019. I note that the WRC sent the complaint to the Respondent on 11 October 2019. I note that the outstanding money owed to the Complainant was paid on 14 October 2019. I note the delay making the payment for the money owing to him caused him much inconvenience. However, the money was paid. I am satisfied that that there is no accrual of annual leave after the Complainant ended his employment relationship with the Respondent in July 2019 and in advance of the him receiving payment of his accrued annual leave entitlement in October 2019. I am satisfied that there is no severance payment due. I acknowledge the delay in the payment of the money owing to him and the difficulty that caused him. However, I equally acknowledge the Respondent’s apology and prompt payment once the case was brought to its attention. |
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.
I find that the complaint is not well founded, and that the Respondent has not contravened the Complainant’s annual leave entitlements contrary to Section 23 of the Act. |
Dated: 12th March 2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: James Kelly
Key Words:
Organisation of Working Time Act - accrue annual leave entitlements – not well founded |