ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00026362
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Employee | A PLC |
Representatives | Padraig Hyland Padraig j Hyland & Co Solicitors. Meave Cox B.L. | Sherwin O’Riordan Solicitors. |
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-00033648-001 | 09/01/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/02/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Niamh O'Carroll 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.
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The complainant accepts that she did read and did sign for her contract of employment, however she states that she was not given a copy of it. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The complainant’s contract of employment is dated the 15.01.2018. The complainant signed an “employee acknowledgement” which states: “I confirm that I have carefully read and understand the terms and conditions which will apply to my employment as set out in the attached agreement dated 15.01.2018….”. |
Findings and Conclusions:
It is conceded that the complainant did sign for her contract of employment. The issue is whether or not the respondent failed to comply with the legal requirement to “give or cause to be given…a statement in writing”. S3.—(1) An employer shall, not later than 2 months after the commencement of an employee's employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee's employment. I find, on the balance of probabilities, that the complainant was not actually given a copy of the contract and therefore the Respondent has failed to comply with its statutory obligation to “give or cause to be given… a statement in writing”. Merely allowing the complainant to read the contract and sign for it, is not sufficient to satisfy the statutory requirement. I find that the complaint is well founded. I award the complainant € 920.00 |
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 well founded. I award the complainant € 920.00 |
Dated: 14/09/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Niamh O'Carroll Kelly
Key Words:
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