ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00045278

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	Sabrina O Reilly	Arlington Novas Ireland Ltd

Representatives

In person

Hayes Solicitors LLP

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-00056932-001	31/05/2023

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 17/08/2023

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 complaint relates to an alleged unfair dismissal. The complaint was lodged to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on 31st May 2023.

Preliminary Issue: Timing of the complaints

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The respondent stated that the complaint is out of time. The respondent noted that the complainant’s employment ended on 8th April 2022 and the complaint was lodged to the WRC on 31st May 2023 which is outside the outer limit of 12 months permitted by the legislation.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The complainant accepted that the complaint was lodged outside of 12 months from the date of her resignation. The complainant stated that this occurred in circumstances where she had engaged the services of a representative following her dismissal and the representative had led her to believe that her complaint had been referred to the WRC, that she had won her case and that she was to receive compensation. The complainant stated that when she became aware that none of what she had been told was true, she submitted her complaint to the WRC

Findings and Conclusions:

The complainant was very unfortunate to entrust her complaints to a representative who was not acting in good faith. I empathise with the complainant in relation to this issue and the fact that, as a result, the complaints have been submitted outside of the time limits permitted by the legislation.

The Applicable Law

Section 8 (2) of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 states as follows:

(2) A claim for redress under this Act shall be initiated by giving a notice in writing (containing such particulars (if any) as may be specified in regulations under subsection (17) of section 41 of the Act of 2015) to the Director General—

(a) within the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the relevant dismissal, or

(b) within such period not exceeding 12 months from the date of the relevant dismissal as the adjudication officer considers appropriate, in circumstances where the adjudication officer is satisfied that the giving of the notice within the period referred to in paragraph (a) was prevented due to reasonable cause, and a copy of the notice shall be given by the Director General to the employer concerned as soon as may be after the receipt of the notice by the Director General.

Conclusion

In the within complaint, the outer time limit for referral to the WRC was 7th April 2023. The complaint was not submitted until 31st May 2023. On that basis I find that I do not have jurisdiction to adjudicate on the complaint as it is out of time and therefore statute barred.

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.

Having considered the submissions of the parties, I find that the complaint is out of time.

Dated: 25th January 2024

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey

Key Words:

Complaint out of time