ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00045599
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | M-Gabriel Mihaila | Kaizen Recruitment Solutions Ltd |
Representatives | Did not attend the hearing | Director of HR, Capabilities and Strategic Partnerships |
Complaints:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 | CA-00039127-001 | 10/08/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00039127-002 | 10/08/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00039127-003 | 10/08/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00039127-004 | 10/08/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication under Section 25 of the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act, 2012 | CA-00039127-005 | 10/08/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication under Section 25 of the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act, 2012 | CA-00039127-006 | 10/08/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 22/09/2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
In accordance with section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 – 2015 and section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, these complaints were assigned to me by the Director General. A hearing was arranged for September 22nd 2023 at 9.30am, for the parties to present evidence in respect of the complaints; however, the complainant, Mr Mihaila, did not attend. His former employer was represented by Ms Sinéad Lawless, the director of HR, capabilities and strategic partnerships and she was accompanied by a HR generalist, Ms Tara Brennan.
When Mr Mihaila was not in attendance at the start time of 9.30am, I checked the case file to ensure that he was properly on notice of the hearing. I established that, on July 26th 2023, he was sent an email with a letter attached to inform him of the time and date of the hearing. There is no indication that the email was not received. I noted that previous correspondence was sent to the WRC by Mr Mihaila from the email address to which the notice of the hearing was sent.
Decision:
Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints 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 complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
In accordance with Section 79 of the Employment Equality Act, I am obliged to hold a hearing. I am satisfied that, on July 26th 2023, Mr Mihaila was notified of the arrangements for the hearing, and I find that his failure to attend was unreasonable. In these circumstances, any obligation to pursue an investigation in accordance with Section 79 of the Act has ceased. As Mr Mihaila did not attend the hearing to present evidence in support of his allegations of discrimination, I conclude the investigation and I find against him. Concerning the complaints under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 and the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012, in the circumstances in which the complainant did not attend the hearing, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary having been submitted, I must conclude that his complaints are not well founded and I decide accordingly. |
Dated: 26th September 2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
Complainant did not attend the hearing |