ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00047239

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	A Payroll Executive	An Accountancy Firm

Representatives

Did not attend

Arthur Cox LLP

Complaints:

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-00058287-001	15/08/2023
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998	CA-00058287-002	15/08/2023
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Schedule 2 of the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014	CA-00058287-003	15/08/2023
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 28 of the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act, 2005	CA-00058287-004	15/08/2023

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 30/11/2023

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015 and Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015, following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I was available to inquire into the complaints and give the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.

Background:

The complainant was employed by the respondent as a payroll executive from 23rd January 2023 until 23rd June 2023. The complainant alleges that she was discriminated against on the gender and family status grounds. The complainant also alleges that she was victimized, harassed and sexually harassed and dismissed for discriminatory reasons. Further complaints lodged by the complainant relate to alleged penalization in contravention of the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The complainant did not attend the adjudication hearing and was not represented.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The respondent attended the adjudication with its legal representative and had furnished written submissions in advance.

Anonymisation

Given the sensitive nature of the complaints, the respondent’s legal representative sought that the adjudication decision be anonymised.

Findings and Conclusions:

The complaints were received by the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on 15th August 2023 whereby the complainant alleged that her former employer contravened the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1998, the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 in relation to her. The complaints were assigned the complaint application numbers CA-00058287-001, 002, 003 and 004.

The said complaints were referred to me for investigation. A hearing for that purpose was arranged for 30th November 2023. There was no appearance by or on behalf of the complainant at the hearing.

Anonymisation

The respondent’s legal representative sought that the adjudication decision be anonymised on the basis of the sensitive nature of the complaints and also that the complaints include allegations of sexual harassment. I have considered the matter and I accept the reasons put forward in relation to anonymising the adjudication decision.

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.

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.

In all of the circumstances of the matter, I must conclude that the within complaints (CA-00058287-001, 002, 003 and 004 are not well-founded and I decide accordingly.

Dated: 6th December 2023

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey

Key Words:

Complainant did not attend