FULL RECOMMENDATION
PARTIES : ROTUNDA HOSPITAL DIVISION :
SUBJECT: 1.Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No’s: ADJ-00021831 CA-00028645-001. This is an appeal by Ms. McNally, ‘the Complainant’, of a Decision by an Adjudication ~Officer, ‘AO’, that did not uphold a complaint by her against the Rotunda Hospital, ‘the Respondent’ under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. Preliminary Issue The Decision of the AO was dated 30 September 2019. The appeal was received by this Court on 27 November 2019, i.e. more than 42 days after the Decision. The relevant law is as follows; Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 83. Section 44 of the Act of 2015 shall apply to a decision of the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission undersection 79as it applies to a decision of an adjudication officer under section 41 of that Act, subject to the following modifications: (a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1): ‘ (1) (a) A party to a case referred to the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Act of 1998 may appeal a decision of the Director General given in an investigation in relation to that case under section 79 of that Act to the Labour Court and, where the party does so, the Labour Court shall — (i) give the parties to the appeal an opportunity to be heard by it and to present to it any evidence relevant to the appeal, (ii) make a decision in relation to the appeal affirming, varying or setting aside the decision of the adjudication officer to which the appeal relates, and (iii) give the parties to the appeal a copy of that decision in writing. (b) The Labour Court shall have power to grant such redress in an appeal under this paragraph as the Director General has power to grant in an investigation under section 79 of the Act of 1998. ’ ; and (b) any other necessary modifications. Workplace Relations Act 2015 44. (3) Subject tosubsection (4), a notice undersubsection (2)shall be given to the Labour Court not later than 42 days from the date of the decision concerned. (4) The Labour Court may direct that a notice undersubsection (2)may be given to it after the expiration of the period specified insubsection (3)if it is satisfied that the notice was not so given before such expiration due to the existence of exceptional circumstances. It is clear, therefore, that the law envisages that appeals should be made within 42 days of the decision by an AO and that this period may only be extended if the Court is satisfied that there were ‘exceptional circumstances’ that prevented an appeal being made in that time period. In the instant case, the Court asked the Complainant to outline what exceptional circumstances prevented her from submitting her appeal within 42 days. The Complainant was not in a position to put any such circumstances before the Court for its consideration. Accordingly, there was not a valid appeal for the Court to consider. Determination The Decision of the Adjudication Officer is affirmed.
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