Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Niamh Andrews

Helga's Pre-School

Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

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Representatives

  David Goodman

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-00057417-001

29/06/2023

The Complainant was employed as a Pre-school teacher by the Respondent from 23 September 2019. While it was accepted that her position was terminated on the grounds of redundancy on 20 June 2023, there was a dispute over the statutory payment that she was due.

The Complainant accepted that her employment was terminated on the grounds of redundancy but asserted that the basis of her redundancy calculation was incorrect because the Respondent, when calculating the statutory payment made to her, did not include her statutory holiday periods as part of the period of her employment.

The Respondent stated that the Complainant’s statutory holiday periods were part of her period of lay-off, and therefore not reckonable for the purposes of calculating her redundancy payment, because she was not working when she was on annual leave.

The specific matter in dispute between the parties in this case is whether, for the purposes of calculating her statutory redundancy entitlements, the Complainant’s periods of her statutory holidays should be deemed part of the period of her employment as she asserted OR part of the periods of lay off as the Respondent alleged.

I note that the Adjudication Officer found in in ADJ 46445, in a case that is on all fours with the instant complaint, that “Annual leave is a benefit and entitlement that derives from being in employment, and ought to be considered to be part of the employee’s working time” and further that “annual leave is an intrinsic part of the employee’s working time.”

Accordingly, I find both that the Respondent erred in excluding her statutory holiday periods in calculating the Complainant’s weekly salary for the purposes of calculating her redundancy payment and that she is entitled to a redundancy payment based on those periods forming part of her working time. The weekly wages for the purpose of calculating the redundancy payment should therefore include all of the Complainant’s periods of statutory holidays as part of her working time.

I allow the Complainant’s appeal and find that she is entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment under the Redundancy Payment Acts 1967 – 2012 based on the following criteria: 

-          Date of commencement:  23 September 2019

-          Date of termination: 20 June 2023

-          Gross weekly wage: €260

-          Non-reckonable breaks in service: 11 weeks per year in the three years preceding her redundancy.

I have calculated that the Complainant’s statutory redundancy entitlements based on the above details amounts to €1,877.20. As this is in excess of the amount that she received from the Respondent, namely € 1,398.84, she is owed an amount of €478.36.

For the avoidance of doubt, as this concerns a statutory redundancy payment, the additional payment due to the Complainant should be made on a tax-free basis.