ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00027464
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A General Operative | A Landscaping Company |
Representatives | Did not attend | Peninsula Business Services (Ireland) Limited |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 | CA-00035125-001 | 10/03/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 27/08/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Enda Murphy
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015following 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 was employed by the Respondent as a General Operative from 7 October, 2019 to 28 February, 2020 when his employment was terminated. The Complainant claims that he was unfairly dismissed from his employment. The Respondent disputes the claim of unfair dismissal and contends that the Complainant’s employment was terminated during his probationary period after having failed to demonstrate his suitability for the role. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant failed to attend the hearing to provide evidence in support of the complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent attended the hearing and was available to provide evidence in relation to the complaint. |
Findings and Conclusions:
This complaint was scheduled for hearing on 27 August, 2020 at 2 pm. The Complainant did not attend the hearing. The Respondent was in attendance at the scheduled time. The Complainant was on notice of the date and time of the hearing of the complaint and dispute. I waited 30 minutes in the event that the Complainant had been delayed before commencing the hearing. However, the Complainant failed to attend. As the Complainant has failed to attend the hearing, I confirmed that a letter had issued notifying him of the date, time and location of the hearing. I find that the Complainant’s non-attendance without any explanation to be unreasonable in the circumstances. |
Decision:
Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the unfair dismissal claim consisting of a grant of redress in accordance with section 7 of the 1977 Act.
I find that the Complainant’s non-attendance without any explanation to be unreasonable in the circumstances. Accordingly, I find that the complaint is dismissed for want of prosecution. |
Dated: 18th September 2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Enda Murphy
Key Words:
Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 – Constructive Dismissal - Failure to attend hearing – Unreasonable – Complaint fails for want of prosecution |