Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Peggy  Black

Parnells Gaa Club  Parnells Gaa Club Ltd

Representatives

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00059389-001

13/10/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967

CA-00059389-002

13/10/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Regulation 15 of the  European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Mobile Staff in Civil Aviation) Regulations 2006 - S.I. No. 507 of 2006

CA-00059389-003

13/10/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997

CA-00059389-004

13/10/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967

CA-00059389-005

13/10/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997

CA-00059389-006

13/10/2023

The Complainant began working for the Respondent on the 27th of May 2012.

On the 12th of March 2020 she was placed on lay-off due to the covid-19 pandemic. She continued on lay-off with no clear return date but an expectation that she would return to work.

The Complainant attended the hearing and gave evidence under affirmation and made oral submissions.

The Respondent did not attend the hearing. I am satisfied that they were on notice of the date, time and location of the hearing.

Withdrawals

The Complainant withdrew CA-00059389-003 and CA-00059389-005 in the hearing. One was a duplication of her redundancy claim and the other was submitted in error. As such I do not have jurisdiction to make findings on these complaints.

Time Limits

Complaints CA-00059389-001 CA-00059389-004 and CA-00059389-006 regarding Wages, Holiday Pay and Public Holiday Pay.

Section 41(6) of the Workplace Relations Act provides that:

Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates.

The complaints submitted by the complainant under the Payment of Wages Act 1991 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 are relevant to contraventions that occurred in March 2020 concerning the non-payment of wages and holiday pay.  These complaints relate to the non-payment of wages in March 2020 and the non-payment of holiday pay shortly afterwards.  Where there is reasonable cause, s.41(8) of the Workplace Relations Act permits me to extend the time limit to from six months to 12 months.  Allowing for this extension, the time limit extends to March 2021.  As these complaints were submitted to the WRC on October 13th 2023, the time limit for consideration of these complaints has expired.  

Complaint CA-0059592-002:  Complaint Concerning Redundancy Pay

This complaint is submitted under the Redundancy Payments Act 1967.  Section 24 of that Act provides that a complaint regarding the non-payment of a redundancy lump sum must be submitted to the WRC within 52 weeks of the date of dismissal.  Section 24(2A) provides that, for reasonable cause, the time limit may be extended to 104 weeks.

At the hearing, the complainant provided evidence that when the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, she and her colleagues expected the club to re-open and they expected that they would return to work.  By May 2022, when this didn’t happen, the complainant submitted an RP9 to the club secretary.  Over the following months, she was informed that the club was waiting for information from the Revenue Commissioners to deal with the applications for redundancy pay and that there was a delay because of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Based on this explanation, I find that it was reasonable for the complainant to wait until October 2023 to apply to the WRC for a decision concerning her entitlement to redundancy pay.  I have decided therefore, in accordance with s.24(2A) of the Redundancy Payments Act, to extend the time limit for submitting a complaint.

Substantive Decision, Complaint CA-0059592-002  Concerning Redundancy Pay

Section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (as amended) sets out five specific circumstances in which an employee may be entitled to a redundancy payment, the first of which is:

“(a) the fact his employer has ceased or intends to cease to carry on the business for the purpose 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.”

It is clear that the Complainant was made redundant. She was placed on lay off on the 12th of March 2020 and in lieu of any further communication from her employer became redundant on the 4th of May 2022 when she submitted her RP50.

She is entitled to a lump sum redundancy payment.

CA-00059389-001

I do not have jurisdiction of the above complaint as it is out of time.

CA-00059389-003

I do not have jurisdiction of the above complaint as it was withdrawn.

CA-00059389-004

I do not have jurisdiction of the above complaint as it is out of time.

CA-00059389-005

I do not have jurisdiction of the above complaint as it was withdrawn.

CA-00059389-006

I do not have jurisdiction of the above complaint as it is out of time.

CA-0059592-002 

The above complaint is well founded.

I direct the Respondent to pay the Complainant a redundancy lump sum calculated on the basis of the following information.

Date of Commencement:     27th of May 2012.

Date placed on unpaid lay-off:         12th of March 2020.

Date of Termination:             4th of May 2022.

Gross Weekly Pay:                  €500