ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference:  ADJ-00031617

Parties:

Complaint(s):

Date of Adjudication Hearing:  05/05/2021

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Jim O'Connell

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 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

This matter was heard by way remote hearing pursuant to the Civil law and Criminal Law (miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and SI 359/20206, which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings.

No objections to the remote hearing

The parties were advised that arising from the Supreme Court judgement in the Zalewski v Adjudication Officer and WRC (2021) IESC 24 it is necessary for Adjudication Officers to implement certain procedural changes with immediate effect in relation to the conduct of hearings pending the introduction of the required legislative amendments to address the issues.

Therefore, I wish to confirm that the following procedural changes are applicable to the hearing of all complaints being heard now, even if they were lodged before the 6th April,21.

 In this regard, the parties should note that all adjudication hearings are now open to the public, other than where the investigation of the complaint does not amount to the administration of justice.

Furthermore, where a serious, direct conflict of evidence in the complaint before an adjudication officer emerges in the course of the proceedings, the Adjudication Officer will be obliged to adjourn the hearing to wait the require amendments of the Workplace Relations act 2015 and related enactments to grant the WRC the power to administer the \Oath or Affirmation.

Background

The complainant   was employed by the respondent from the 3rd February 2020 to the 30th October 2020. The complainant submitted that he did not get a contract of employment in accordance with the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. He was paid €4000 gross per month.

Summary of the complainant position

He stated that he got a letter of offer from the respondent, but he never got a full contract of employment.  He also submitted that he did not received a pay slip

Summary of the Respondent position

It was stated that the supervisor delivered a contract to the site that complainant was working on however they accepted that he (Complainant)made not have received it.

It was submitted that the respondent had emailed pay slips to the complainant

Findings

There is no dispute over the start and finish dates of the employment

Written statement of terms of employment.

3.—(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, that is to say—

(a) the full names of the employer and the employee,

(b) the address of the employer in the State or, where appropriate, the address of the principal place of the relevant business of the employer in the State or the registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963),

(c) the place of work or, where there is no fixed or main place of work, a statement specifying that the employee is required or permitted to work at various places,

(d) the title of the job or nature of the work for which the employee is employed,

(e) the date of commencement of the employee’s contract of employment,

(f) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the expected duration thereof or, if the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the date on which the contract expires,

(h) the length of the intervals between the times at which remuneration is paid, whether a week, a month or any other interval,

(i) any terms or conditions relating to hours of work (including overtime),

(j) any terms or conditions relating to paid leave (other than paid sick leave),

(k) any terms or conditions relating to—

(i) incapacity for work due to sickness or injury and paid sick leave, and

(ii) pensions and pension schemes,

(l) the period of notice which the employee is required to give and entitled to receive (whether by or under statute or under the terms of the employee’s contract of employment) to determine the employee’s contract of employment or, where this cannot be indicated when the information is given, the method for determining such periods of notice,

(m) a reference to any collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment including, where the employer is not a party to such agreements, particulars of the bodies or institutions by whom they

I find that the dispute in relation to pay slips is not a matter for the WRC.

Taking all submissions into consideration I am making the following

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 I declare that the complaint to be well founded, I award the complainant €2000 in compensation.

Dated:  26th July 2021 

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Jim O'Connell

Key Words: