ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00023783
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Claudia Arbizu | Eli Lilly |
Representatives |
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Complaint:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00030432-001 | 22/08/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 25/08/2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Ewa Sobanska
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 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 S.I. 359 of 2020, which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings
At the adjudication hearing, the Respondent was advised that, in accordance with the Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021, hearings before the Workplace Relations Commission are now held in public and, in most cases, decisions are no longer anonymised.
The Respondent was also advised that the Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 grants Adjudication Officers the power to administer an oath or affirmation.
Background:
The Complainant referred her complaint to the Director General of the WRC on 22nd August 2019 alleging that on 2nd July 2019 the Respondent underpaid her by €687.25.
The complaint was acknowledged on 27th August 2019. However, this correspondence was returned by An Post as undelivered on 27th September 2019. The WRC wrote again to the Complainant on 3rd October 2019. In the absence of any communication from the Complainant, the WRC wrote to the Complainant on 23rd November 2021 advising that should she fail to respond to this letter within 21 days, in accordance with Section 48 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, the Director General may decide to strike out the above complaint on the basis that the Complainant has not pursued the matter within the past 12 months. This correspondence was returned by An Post as undelivered on 18th January 2022.
The WRC made further attempt to contact the Complainant by email on 4th February 2022 outlining the matter of returned correspondence. On 9th February 2022, the Complainant replied and consented to email correspondence. The Complainant’s email was acknowledged on 15th February 2019 and copies of all previous correspondence was issued to her by email on 15th February 2022.
Correspondence informing the parties of the arrangements for the adjudication hearing scheduled for 25th August 2022 issued on 21st July 2022. The adjudication hearing was arranged to be held via virtual means at 10am on 25th August 2022.
There was no attendance by, or on behalf of, the Complainant at the adjudication hearing. A WRC official attempted to contact the Complainant on the mobile number she had provided to the WRC. A voice message was left. The WRC official also issued an email to the Complainant at 10.10am on the day of the hearing advising her that he had tried to call her in relation to the hearing which was taking place. He further advised that if the Complainant was having any technical difficulties, she could contact him directly on the email address or phone number provided.
There has been no communication from, or on behalf of the Complainant during the adjudication hearing or post-hearing explaining her non-attendance. In excess of three weeks has elapsed since the day of the hearing until the decision in the within case was issued. There has been no further communication from the Complainant.
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Summary of Complainant’s Case:
There was no attendance by, or on behalf, of the Complainant to adduce any evidence in support of her claim. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent was in attendance at the adjudication hearing. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The within complaint was referred to the Director General of the WRC on 22nd August 2019. The complaint was referred to me for investigation. A hearing for that purpose was scheduled on 25th August 2022. The parties were notified in writing by the WRC of the arrangements for the hearing on 21st July 2022. There was no appearance by, or on behalf of the Complainant at the adjudication hearing. I am satisfied that the Complainant was properly notified of the arrangements for the hearing. |
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.
I declare this complaint to be not well founded. |
Dated: 19th September 2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Ewa Sobanska
Key Words:
Non-attendance by the Complainant |