ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969
Investigation Recommendation Reference: ADJ-00041127
Parties:
| Worker | Employer |
Anonymised Parties | A Worker | A Retail Employer |
Representatives |
|
|
Dispute(s):
Act | Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Unfair Dismissal Act | CA-00052383-001 | 24th August 2022 |
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Date of Hearing: 23/03/2023
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (as amended)following the referral of the dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any information relevant to the dispute.
Background:
This matter was heard by way of remote hearing pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 and S.I. No. 359/2020 which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. |
Summary of Workers Case:
The worker stated that she felt it was unfair that she was dismissed because she was out sick. She stated that she thought that her employer should have given her a verbal warning, followed by a written warning followed by a dismissal. She stated that she was out of work for six months following her dismissal. The worker stated that she worked for the employer from 20 October to 22 August 2022 working for about 30 hours a week at €12.50 per hour. |
Summary of Employer’s Case:
The employer stated that the worker was off sick on six separate occasions and she found that this was putting pressure on the workers business colleagues. She stated that n o issue was raised with the worker for the first three occasions however on the fourth occasion the worker only gave the employer an hour’s notice of her absence. The employer stated that on the workers return she was spoken to and reminded that he employee handbook which was given to the worker, indicates that absence through illness must be notified to the employer 90 minutes prior to the start of the shift to facilitate finding a replacement. On the sixth occasion, the workers mother phoned the employer 15 minutes prior to the start of the shift to indicate that her daughter would be out sick again. The employer stated that the workers mother was reminded that this issue had already been brought up with the worker and that she was required to give adequate notice of absence. The employer stated that following the workers return to work she was brought in for a chat, reminded of the previous conversation and the need to provide adequate notice of absence through illness. The complainant was let go. The employer stated that in her final payslip, the worker was paid a weeks’ notice less the 18 hours holidays that she had already been paid for in advance. |
Conclusions:
In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties. The facts of this dispute were agreed. The worker was absent for varying periods on six occasions over the ten months of her employment. She did not dispute that she gave the employer very little notice and did not dispute that this was brought to her attention on previous occasions. The worker did not dispute that the employee handbook was provided to her. The worker submitted that the termination of her employment was unfair however it is hard to see how her termination was unexpected in a situation where this had been brought to her attention repeatedly and her last-minute notification of sick leave was an irregular but common occurrence. |
Recommendation:
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
Having regard to the facts of this dispute, I recommend that the employer introduce a system to document verbal conversations with its employees and to make better use of the verbal and written warnings provided for in their employee handbook at an earlier stage in difficult employee relationships.
Dated: 6th April 2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Conor Stokes
Key Words:
Industrial Relations Act – procedure for termination – recommend documenting verbal and written warnings at an earlier stage. |