ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00028971
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Energy Consultant | Resource Management Company |
Representatives | The claimant represented himself | Neither the respondent nor the Liquidator attended |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 | CA-00038920-001 | 27/07/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 09/11/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea
Procedure
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and/or Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 - 2014 following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The claimant was employed as an Energy Consultant with the respondent from the 28.06.2016 to the 27.08.2018. The claimant submitted the respondent was in breach of the Act for failing to pay him redundancy – the claimant was made redundant in August 2018 and continued to work without pay for a further week. At this time the company went into liquidation and the workers were referred by the respondent to the Liquidator in relation to outstanding HR issues including redundancy. The claimant asserted that he was assured by the liquidator that redundancy would be paid following the sale of company property and the liquidator predicted a 2 month time frame for that. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent did not attend and was not represented at the hearing. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2012 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.
The complainant’s complaint was received by the WRC on the 27.07.2020 - the complainant submitted into evidence details of the numerous exchanges with the liquidator in which he was assured that payment of his redundancy was imminent. Additionally , the complainant advised that he had sought registration details on several occasions from the Liquidator to enable him to lodge a claim under the Insolvency Fund but the information was never forthcoming .On the basis of the evidence of the claimant I am satisfied that there was reasonable cause for the delay in making the complaint and accordingly I am deeming the complaint to be in time. Having considered the uncontested evidence presented by the claimant, I find the claimant was made redundant on the 27th Aug. 2018 and that the respondent was in breach of the Act for failing to pay the claimant his statutory redundancy. Accordingly I am upholding this appeal. I am satisfied the complainant is entitled to a redundancy payment based on the following criteria: Date of Commencement: 28.06.2016 Date of Termination: 27.08.2018 Gross Weekly Pay: €826.92 This award is made subject to the complainant having been in insurable employment under the Social Welfare Acts during the relevant period. |
Dated: 22nd January 2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emer O'Shea
Key Words:
Redundancy |