ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00045828
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Kinga Andrysiak | Cribbin Family Butchers Limited (in Liquidation) |
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | {text} | {text} |
Representatives | Noel Murphy Cork Operative Butchers / IWU | Edward Walsh Edward Walsh Corporate Services Limited |
Complaints:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 | CA-00056673-001 | 15/05/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00056673-002 WITHDRAWN | 15/05/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 06/12/2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Thomas O'Driscoll
Procedure:
In accordance with 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. This case was heard in conjunction with eight other cases concerning ex-employees of the Respondent company, which is in liquidation. The Complainants in all cases gave evidence under oath/affirmation and Lithuanian/Polish interpreters assisted in the cases. Complaint CA-00056673-002 was withdrawn at the commencement of the hearing.
Background:
It is common case that the Complainant was made redundant when the company ceased trading on 19 November 2022. The Complainant is seeking payment of the statutory sum for the additional period from commencement of employment on 17 April 2014 to 15 January 2015 under the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (“the 1967 Act”). |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00056673-001: Redundancy Payment: The Complainant gave evidence that she earned €495 per week for the purposes of the Act, and she was in continuous employment from 17 April 2014 . The Complainant accepted she was paid the equivalent statutory redundancy sum for the period from 15 January 2015 to 19 November 2022. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent accepts that there was a genuine redundancy situation and that the statutory sum was paid to the Complainant for the period from 15 January 2015 to 19 November 2022. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00056673-001: Redundancy Payment: The entitlement to a redundancy payment is set out in Section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 which states as follows: 7(1) An employee, if he is dismissed by his employer by reason of redundancy or is laid off or kept on short-time for the minimum period, shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to the payment of moneys which shall be known (and are in this Act referred to) as redundancy payment provided— (a) he has been employed for the requisite period, and (b) he was an employed contributor in employment which was insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966, immediately before the date of the termination of his employment or had ceased to be ordinarily employed in employment which was so insurable in the period of four years ending on that date. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be 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 for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him, or has ceased or intends to cease, to carry on that 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, or (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, Based on the uncontested evidence of the Complainant I find that she was made redundant under Section 7 (2)(a). I allow the Complainants appeal and I award her statutory redundancy on the following basis. Section 4(1) of the 1967 Act states “Subject to this section and to section 47 this Act shall apply to employees employed in employment which is insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966 and to employees who were so employed in such employment in the period of two years ending on the date of termination of employment.” |
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. CA-00056673-001: I allow the Complainant’s appeal and , subject to the Complainant being in employment which was insurable for this purpose under the Social Welfare Acts, she is entitled to a redundancy payment of two weeks per year (or part thereof) plus a week on the following basis; Date of Commencement: 17 April 2014 Date of Reckonable Service for Redundancy Payment Ceasing on: 15 January 2015 (the Complainant already having received the statutory sum for the period 15 January 2015 to 19 November 2022). Gross Weekly Wage: €495. |
Dated: 17/01/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Thomas O'Driscoll
Key Words:
Redundancy Payments Act 1967. |