ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00038819
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Michael Folan | Heaney Meats Catering Company Ltd trading as BWG Foods |
Representatives | In person | IBEC |
Complaint:
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-00049870-001 | 25/04/2022 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 07/02/2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 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.
Background:
The complainant was employed by the respondent from July 2021 until March 2022 as a Dispatcher. The complaint relates to an alleged unfair dismissal. |
Preliminary Point: Requisite service.
Summary of Respondent’s case:
The respondent contends by way of a preliminary point that the complainant does not have the requisite one years’ service with the respondent to bring a complaint under the Act. The respondent stated that the complainant was previously employed by an employment agency and was placed with the respondent until he was directly employed by the respondent on a new contract of employment with effect from 22nd July 2021. The respondent stated that at the time of the dismissal in March 2022, the complainant had approximately only eight months service and accordingly cannot bring a complaint under the Act. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The complainant, in his complaint form stated that he was employed by the respondent as a Dispatcher from 16th August 2020 until 9th March 2022. The complainant’s position is that he meets the service requirements of the legislation in respect of his complaint of unfair dismissal. |
Findings and Conclusions:
It is not disputed in the within complaint that the complainant was placed with the respondent, by the employment agency until July 2021. The complainant’s direct employment with the respondent commenced on 22nd July 2021 and ended by reason of dismissal in March 2022. The Applicable Law Section 2(1)(a) of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 states as follows: 2.(1) Except in so far as any provision of this Act otherwise provides, this Act shall not apply in relation to any of the following persons: (a) an employee (other than a person referred to in section 4 of this Act) who is dismissed, who, at the date of his dismissal, had less than one year’s continuous service with the employer who dismissed him, On the basis of the complainant’s length of service with the respondent and having considered the provisions of the legislation, I find that the complainant does not have the requisite one years’ service to bring a complaint under the Act. |
Decision:
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.
As the complainant did not have the requisite service with the employer to bring a complaint under the Act, I find I have no jurisdiction to hear the complaint. |
Dated: 17/August/2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Key Words:
Requisite service, unfair dismissal |