Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

{A Production Manager}

{A Meat Company}

Representatives

Act

Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969

IR - SC - 00000669

12/09/2022

The Worker worked with the Respondent from 8th December 2021 until 28th May 2022.

The Worker is a butcher and was employed as a Production Manager. He claims he was unfairly dismissed. He says he suffered bullying and physical aggression. He was given a salary certificate for his mortgage three weeks prior to being made redundant.

The Worker says he should not have been the first person to be let go in May 2022 as he started work on 8th December 2021. He was required to work his two week’s notice.

The Worker says the greengrocer shops were supplied by the Respondent until November 2022. The owner opened another butcher’s shop in April 2022. The Worker says there was a role for him in the two other shops. He also asked the owner whether there were positions in the other shop, but did not receive any reply.

The Worker obtained another job on 20th June 2022, but it was paid at a lower hourly rate of 15.50 euro per hour. He had to work more hours.

He says the owner and one of his employees, called him outside his workplace to ask about a fire extinguisher which an employee used to spray him on 8th December 2021. The owner was laughing at the Worker, recorded a video and sent it to multiple groups. The Worker was in one of the groups. He has proof the owner recorded the video, and has the video. It was an illegal assault.

The Respondent has a Butchers shop and wholesale butcher business. In February 2022, he had to close the wholesale production business as they were not getting paid by suppliers. The Respondent met with the production staff and explained the situation. The production staff were given notice of redundancy.

They closed 3 greengrocer shops and let six production staff go on 14th May 2022. The owner said he took on the role of Head of Production. The wholesale butcher business has been closed. He already had a butcher manager in the shop, who had transferred from another branch.  This shop is now closed.

The owner took over another shop counter. He said there are two butchers there who supply meat, but no staff.

These were work pranks and the owner was not involved. Two other staff filmed on the work phone and posted it to the group. The Respondent witnesses say the owner was not present. The Worker never complained about the incident.

The owner said he gave the staff member a warning and spoke to the other staff member after the incident.

In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented to me by the parties.

The Worker commenced employment with the Respondent on 8th December 2021. He was involved in an unpleasant incident on the work premises on 8th December 2021, which was filmed and posted by work colleagues into a group. He was upset by this, but did not make a formal complaint as he says he was afraid he would be fired. He says there was no follow up on the incident by the employer. He was made redundant on 28th May 2022 with five other production staff.

The owner says six members of staff including the Worker, were made redundant when he closed the production operation on 28th May 2022 due to financial reasons. Employees were informed and given notice of redundancy on 14th May 2022.  The Worker was the Production Manager. Butchers working in the company’s other shops were retained.

The Worker strongly objects to the treatment by his colleagues and posting the video, and rightly so given the nature of the incident. I recommend the individuals involved are disciplined appropriately if this action has not already been taken. However, I do not find any link between the incident and redundancy of the Worker, and in those circumstances, I make no further recommendation.