ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00027744
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Vytautas Germanavicius | Brendan Smith t/a Smith Gala Express |
Representatives |
| Robin Hyde Alastair Purdy & Co |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 | CA-00035528-001 | 31/03/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 28/03/2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marguerite Buckley
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015 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 of 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.
Background:
The Complainant made a written submission that he was an employee of the Respondent but he did not receive his statutory entitlements because he was Lithuanian. The Respondent disputed that the Complainant was an employee and submitted that he was self-employed at all times. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
There was no attendance by the Complainant at the hearings. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent submitted a 10 page written submission two days before the hearing of the 2 December 2021. |
Findings and Conclusions:
This complaint was received by the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission from the Complainant on the 31 March 2020 alleging discrimination, discriminatory dismissal, victimisation and harassment. The said complaint was referred to me for investigation. A hearing for that purpose was held on 2 December 2021 and 28 March 2022. There was no appearance by or on behalf of the Complainant at either hearing. The Complainant engaged with the Workplace Relations Commissions by email. He submitted the name for a witness. Two days in advance of the first hearing date, the Complainant applied for an adjournment due to his unavailability. Since that engagement, no notification of change of address or email address was received by the Workplace Relations Commission. Based on same I am satisfied that the said Complainant was informed in writing of the date and time at which the remote hearing to investigate the complaint would be held. In these circumstances and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the complaint is not well-founded. |
Decision:
Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under section 82 of the Act.
This complaint is not well founded. |
Dated: 26th April 2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Marguerite Buckley
Key Words:
No attendance |