ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00048444
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Eillen Fallon | LIFETIMECARE Limited |
Representatives | Self | No show |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 | CA-00059455-001 | 17/10/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00059455-005 | 17/10/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 29/02/2024 and 11/06/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Brian Dalton
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(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s).
Background:
The Complainant commenced her employment with the Respondent as a care worker on the 14th of June 2015.
The Respondent Company ceased trading without notice on or about the 5th of October 2015.
On the 5th of October 2023 a director of the Company wrote to all staff and stated that at a meeting on that date the directors of Lifetime had decided to cease trading. The owner due to ill health stated that he wished for the contracts in place to transfer in an orderly fashion. He stated that he could no longer manage the business and sought an increase in care rates. As a tender was nearing, he stated that the HSE did not agree to that increase and arising from that the Company missed payments owing to Revenue. He stated that in turn that led to an issue with his tax clearance and in turn monies due to the Company from the HSE could not be processed without a tax clearance cert. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
Based on the sworn evidence given by the Complainant and a letter opened to the Commission dated the 5th of October 2023 the Respondent company closed on that date and had no funds to pay their creditors or their employees. The Complainant stated that she was not paid her statutory redundancy entitlement or paid her statutory notice. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Company was notified at its registered office of the date and time of the hearing. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00059455-001 Statutory Redundancy Payment: Section 7(2) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967, states: (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, Having heard the evidence and the fact that the respondent employer has ceased trading and/or intends to cease trading and to carry on business in the place where the employee was employed and that her work has ceased, I am satisfied that the Complainant was dismissed by reason of redundancy and is entitled to a redundancy payment pursuant to the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2014 based on the following facts established at the hearing; based on evidence given under oath and documentary evidence presented at the hearing and subsequently, including payslips: 1. Start date: 14th of June 2015 2. Date of notice of termination: 5th of October 2023. 3. Date of termination by employer: 5th of October 2023. 4. Contract date of termination including notice 1st of November 2023 (allowing for 4 weeks statutory notice). 5. Gross weekly wage: €495 The award is made subject to the complainant having been in insurable employment under the Social Welfare Acts during the relevant period. CA-00059455-005 Minimum Notice Entitlement: Under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 the Complainant is entitled to redress as follows: 12. (1) A decision of an adjudication officer under section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 in relation to a complaint of a contravention of section 4(2) or 5 may, where the adjudication officer finds that that section was contravened by the employer in relation to the employee who presented the complaint, include a direction that the employer concerned pay to the employee compensation for any loss sustained by the employee by reason of the contravention. The relevant facts for calculating her notice entitlement are: 1. Commencement date 14th of June 2015. 2. Termination date 5th of October 2023. (c) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for five years or more, but less than ten years, four weeks, I determine that the Complainant is entitled to 4 weeks statutory notice. The complainant is entitled to 4 weeks’ notice. The claim is well founded, and I direct the employer to pay the complainant 4 weeks’ pay in lieu of notice amounting to €1980 As per the Company Registration Office the details of the Respondent are: The address for Lifetime Care Limited on their register is: 532550 Reg. Name LIFETIMECARE LIMITED LTD - Private Company Limited by Shares Status Normal Effective Date 09/09/2013 Registered on 09/09/2013 Next Annual Return 09/09/2023 Reg. Address 185 RATHMINES ROAD LOWER, DUBLIN 6, DUBLIN, D06YW56, IRELAND I am satisfied that the Company was notified of the date and time of the hearing and failed to attend. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
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-00059455-001 Statutory Redundancy Payment: I determine that the complaint is well founded, I uphold the employee appeal and determine that her employment ceased by reason of redundancy. Having heard the evidence and the fact that the respondent employer has ceased trading and/or intends to cease trading and to carry on business in the place where the employee was employed and that her work has ceased, I am satisfied that the Complainant was dismissed by reason of redundancy and is entitled to a redundancy payment pursuant to the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2014 based on the following facts established at the hearing; based on evidence given under oath and documentary evidence presented at the hearing and subsequently, including payslips: 1. Start date: 14th of June 2015 2. Date of notice of termination: 5th of October 2023. 3. Date of termination by employer: 5th of October 2023. 4. Contract date of termination including notice 1st of November 2023 (allowing for 4 weeks statutory notice). 5. Gross weekly wage: €495 The award is made subject to the complainant having been in insurable employment under the Social Welfare Acts during the relevant period. CA-00059455-005 Minimum Notice Entitlement: The complaint is well founded. The relevant facts for calculating her notice entitlement are: 1. Commencement date 14th of June 2015. 2. Termination date 5th of October 2023. (c) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for five years or more, but less than ten years, four weeks, I determine that the Complainant is entitled to 4 weeks statutory notice. The claim is well founded, and I direct the employer to pay the complainant 4 weeks’ pay in lieu of notice amounting to €1980.
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Dated: 13-06-2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Brian Dalton
Key Words:
Company Insolvent-Redundancy Entitlement-Notice entitlement. |