ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00045186
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Eládio Guardado | Windhoist Ireland Limited (In Liquidation) |
Representatives |
| Grant Thornton (Liquidator) |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 - 2014. | CA-00056024-001 | 12/04/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 08/09/2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2014,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.
It was clear from the narrative on the complaint form that:
- (i) the correct name of the Respondent was the Complainant’s former employer, namely Windhoist Ireland Limited, and not the name of the Liquidator, Grant Thornton which was listed as the Respondent/Employer on the complaint form submitted by the Complainant and
- (ii) this was a complaint under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2014 and not under Section 9 of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act, 1984, which was the legislation inadvertently ticked by the Complainant on the complaint form.
Given these clear errors, I amended the name of both the Respondent as well as the relevant Act.
These changes were made with the consent of both the Complainant and the Liquidator, Grant Thornton, whose staff member Alan McCarthy attended the hearing.
Background:
The Complainant commenced his employment with the Respondent on 7 August 2019 as a Wind Energy Technician. Although his employment was terminated on 29 November 2022, when the Respondent went into liquidation, he did not receive a redundancy payment. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant stated that he did not receive his statutory redundancy entitlements when the Respondent went into liquidation on 29 November 2022. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Liquidator did not dispute the Complainant’s evidence. |
Findings and Conclusions:
THE LAW Section 7(2) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967, states: For the purposes of subsection (1), an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to have been dismissed by reason of redundancy if for one or more reasons not related to the employee concerned the dismissal is attributable wholly or mainly to – (a) The fact that his employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business in the place where the employee was so employed, or (b) The fact that the requirements of that business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where he was so employed have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish. (c) the fact that his employer has decided to carry on the business with fewer or no employees, whether by requiring the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) to be done by other employees or otherwise, or (d) the fact that his employer has decided that the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) should henceforward be done in a different manner for which the employee is not sufficiently qualified or trained, or (e) the fact that his employer has decided that the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) should henceforward be done by a person who is also capable of doing other work for which the employee is not sufficiently qualified or trained. FINDINGS Having heard the Complainant’s uncontradicted evidence, I am satisfied that he was dismissed by reason of redundancy and is entitled to a redundancy payment pursuant to the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2014. |
Decision:
Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2012 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.
I allow the Complainant’s appeal and find that he is entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment under the Redundancy Payment Acts 1967 – 2014 based on the following criteria: - Date of commencement: 7 August 2019 - Date of termination: 29 November 2022 - Gross average weekly wage: €1,004.21 This award is made subject to the Complainant having been in insurable employment under the Social Welfare Acts during the relevant period. |
Dated: 18/01/24
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill
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