ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00026614
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Retail Assistant | A Clothing Retailer |
Representatives | self | self |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00033900-001 | 21/01/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/08/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
This complaint was submitted to the WRC on January 21st, 2020 and, in accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 it was assigned to me by the Director General. Due to the Covid 19 closures, the hearing was delayed until August 14th, 2020. On that day, I gave the parties an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence relevant to the complaint. Both parties represented themselves.
Background:
The complainant was employed from November 2003 until July 15th, 2019, when the store where she worked closed down. The respondent said that the closure was because of cash flow difficulties. The complainant applied to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for a redundancy lump sum, which she received. This complaint is about the fact that her employment was terminated without notice and without pay in lieu of notice. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
At the hearing, the complainant said that she and her colleagues were aware that the shop was having problems. She said that they were informed on Monday, July 15th, 2019 that the shop was closing that day and that was her last day at work. She said she was paid up to the end of that week. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent concurred with the complainant’s version of events and said that trading became difficult because of cash flow problems. Eventually, she found that the only course of action was to close the shop and to sell the property. She said that she always intended to pay her staff what they were entitled to and she was waiting for the funds to come through from the sale. She said that a buyer recently agreed to purchase the shop and she expects to be able to pay the complainant her minimum notice entitlement within about four weeks. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The complainant’s employment was terminated without notice and she is therefore entitled to pay in lieu. As she worked for the respondent for more than 15 years, she is entitled to eight weeks’ pay in lieu of notice. She received one week’s wages for the week commencing July 15th, 2019, when she worked on one day and she is therefore entitled to seven weeks and one day’s pay in lieu of notice. The respondent accepts this liability and has agreed to pay the complainant what she is owed. |
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 complainant earned €375 a week. I decide that the respondent is to pay her €2,698.50, which I calculate is her gross pay for seven weeks and one day. |
Dated: 14-09-2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
Minimum notice |