ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference:
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Complainant | A Respondent |
Representatives | North Leinster Citizens Information Service |
|
Complaints:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 | CA-00034111-001 | 31/01/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00034111-002 | 31/01/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00034111-003 | 31/01/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00034111-006 | 31/01/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 07/01/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.
Background:
The complainant began working for the respondent, a fast food business 2 January 2008 as a cleaner. She was paid €50 per week for 4.5 hours. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00034111-001 The complainant submitted that she was unfairly dismissed on or around August 2019 CA-00034111-002 The complainant submitted that she received no paperwork of any kind connected with her employment. CA-00034111-003 The complainant submitted that she received no holiday pay. CA-00034111-006 The complainant submitted that she received no payment in lieu of termination of her employment. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
CA-00034111-001, CA-00034111-002, CA-00034111-003, CA-00034111-006 The respondent declined to attend the hearing or to facilitate receipt of a remote hearing invitation. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00034111-001 Section 8 (2) of the Unfair Dismissals Cat, 1977 states that A claim for redress under this Act shall be initiated by giving a notice in writing (containing such particulars (if any) as may be specified in regulations under subsection (17) of section 41 of the Act of 2015) to the Director General — (a) within the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the relevant dismissal, or (b) within such period not exceeding 12 months from the date of the relevant dismissal as the adjudication officer considers appropriate, in circumstances where the adjudication officer is satisfied that the giving of the notice within the period referred to in paragraph (a) was prevented due to reasonable cause, The complainant was somewhat unclear as to the date that she was dismissed but gave evidence which leads me to conclude that she was dismissed on 23 June 2019. She applied to the WRC on 31 January 2020 which is outside the six-month period envisaged by the Act. Although the complainant indicated that her son remained in hospital during the period in question, I am not satisfied that this amounts to reasonable cause such as to prevent her from applying for redress within the six-month period. Accordingly, I find that this element of the complaint is out of time. CA-00034111-002 Section 41 (6) and (8) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 state: (6) Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates. (8) An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than 6 months after such expiration), as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause. The complainant was somewhat unclear as to the date that she was dismissed but gave evidence which leads me to conclude that she was dismissed on 23 June 2019. She applied to the WRC on 31 January 2020 which is outside the six-month period envisaged by the Act. Although the complainant indicated that her son remained in hospital during the period in question, I am not satisfied that this amounts to reasonable cause for the failure to present the complaint within the six-month period. Accordingly, I find that this element of the complaint is out of time. CA-00034111-003 Section 41 (6) and (8) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 state: (6) Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates. (8) An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than 6 months after such expiration), as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause. The complainant was somewhat unclear as to the date that she was dismissed but gate evidence which leads me to conclude that she was dismissed on 23 June 2019. She applied to the WRC on 31 January 2020 which is outside the six-month period envisaged by the Act. Although the complainant indicated that her son remained in hospital during the period in question, I am not satisfied that this amounts to reasonable cause for the failure to present the complaint within the six-month period. Accordingly, I find that this element of the complaint is out of time. CA-00034111-006 Section 41 (6) and (8) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 state: (6) Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates. (8) An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than 6 months after such expiration), as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause. The complainant was somewhat unclear as to the date that she was dismissed but gave evidence which leads me to conclude that she was dismissed on 23 June 2019. She applied to the WRC on 31 January 2020 which is outside the six-month period envisaged by the Act. Although the complainant indicated that her son remained in hospital during the period in question, I am not satisfied that this amounts to reasonable cause for the failure to present the complaint within the six-month period. Accordingly, I find that this element of the complaint is out of time. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
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.
CA-00034111-001 My decision is that this matter is outside the time-limits envisaged by the Act. CA-00034111-002 My decision is that this matter is outside the time-limits envisaged by the Act. CA-00034111-003 My decision is that this matter is outside the time-limits envisaged by the Act. CA-00034111-006 My decision is that this matter is outside the time-limits envisaged by the Act. |
Dated: 14th October 2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Key Words
Unfair Dismissal, Terms of Employment, Payment of Wages, Organisation of Working Time Act, Time Limits |