ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00025869
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Retail Betting Assistant | A Retail Bookmakers |
Representatives |
| The HR Suite |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00032956-001 | 04/12/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 19/02/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
This complaint was submitted to the WRC on December 4th 2019 and, in accordance with section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, it was assigned to me by the Director General. Due to the closure of the WRC as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, a hearing was delayed until February 17th 2021. On that date, I conducted a hearing using remote video technology, with the intention of giving the parties an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence relevant to the complaint.
The respondent was represented by Ms Dominika O’Sullivan and Ms Michelle Burke of the HR Suite. Also in attendance was the District Manager, the Senior Employee Relations Manager (Retail) for the UK and Ireland and the Head of Retail Operations (Ireland).
The complainant did not log on to the remote meeting and, a few minutes after the scheduled starting time of 10.30am, the case officer phoned her. The complainant said that she must have missed the email from the WRC inviting her to the hearing.
Background:
On the complaint form that she submitted to the WRC, the complainant said, “I do not get breaks.” Under the heading, “Complaint Specific Details or Statement,” she wrote, “I never get proper breaks.” |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The complainant did not attend the hearing. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
On behalf of the respondent, Arthur Cox Solicitors sent a submission to the WRC on February 17th 2021. This submission notes that, as this complaint was submitted to the WRC on December 4th 2019, the cognizable period within which I can consider a breach of section 12 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (“the OWT Act”) is from June 5th until December 4th 2019. The submission states that the complainant was on maternity leave from April 3rd 2019 until February 20th 2020 and, as such, she was not at work for the entirety of the statutory reference period. A copy of the complainant’s log-in and log-out records of her start and finish times were submitted as an appendix to the respondent’s submission. The records show that the complainant was not at work on any day during the cognizable reference period, from June 5th until December 4th 2019. As the complainant was not at work during this period, the respondent’s case is that there cannot have been a breach of section 12 of the Act during the period which, in accordance with section 27(4) of the Act, I have jurisdiction to consider a complaint. |
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.
In the circumstances where the complainant did not attend the hearing, and, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary having been submitted, I must conclude that this complaint is not well-founded and I decide accordingly. |
Dated: 1st March 2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
Complainant did not attend the hearing. |