ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00052338
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Jennifer Orozco Castillo | Broadway Foods Limited |
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | {text} | {text} |
Representatives |
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Complaint(s):
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-00057847-001 | 23/07/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00057847-002 | 23/07/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00057847-003 | 23/07/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 16 of the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001 | CA-00057847-004 | 23/07/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 03/10/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Patricia Owens
Procedure:
A complaint was received by the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission on 23 July 2023 from Ms. Jennifer Orozco Castillo alleging that her former employer Broadway Foods Ltd. contravened the provisions of Section 6 of the Payments of Wages act, 1991, section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 and Section16 of the Protection of Employees (Part-time Work) Act, 2001 in relation to her. The said complaint was referred to me for investigation.
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, a hearing to investigate the complaints was convened on 3 October 2024. This hearing was conducted by way of remote hearing pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and SI 359/2020, which designate the Workplace Relations Commission as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. No technical issues were experienced during the hearing.
There was no appearance by or on behalf of the complainant at the hearing nor was there an appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent.
Background:
The Complainant submitted that she did not receive the appropriate payment in lieu of notice of termination of her employment, that she did not receive a statement in writing of her terms of employment, that her employer had not paid her or had paid her less than the amount due to her, and that she was a part-time employee and had, in respect of her employment, been treated less favorably than a comparable full-time employee.
The Respondent did not attend the hearing and did not provide any response to the allegations.
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Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00057847-001 The Complainant submitted that she never received a letter with the reason for her dismissal and that the Respondent had simply removed her from the WhatsApp group and stopped giving her hours and blocked her from the group. CA-00057847-002 The Complainant submitted that the Respondent never gave her any document or contract of employment. CA-00057847-003 The Complainant submitted that she did not get paid for the first day of employment because it was a training day. CA-00057847-004 The Complainant submitted that despite only working 4 hours a day opening the shop and working alone, she had to do the same tasks as a full-time worker. She submitted that the manager and the owner wanted her to do in 4 hours the same as a person who worked 8 hours, and that as she didn’t have time to finish the work, she received constant scolding, mistreatment and threats of dismissal. She submitted that all threats were verbal and that she never received a written warning.
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Summary of Respondent’s Case:
CA-00057847-001 The Respondent did not attend the hearing and did not provide any response to the allegations.
CA-00057847-002 The Respondent did not attend the hearing and did not provide any response to the allegations.
CA-00057847-003 The Respondent did not attend the hearing and did not provide any response to the allegations.
CA-00057847-004 The Respondent did not attend the hearing and did not provide any response to the allegations.
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Findings and Conclusions:
Neither party attended the hearing. In those circumstances I confirmed that the notice of the hearing had issued to both parties in advance of the hearing. I established that the address to which the Respondent correspondence had issued was the address listed for the Respondent on the website of the Companies Registration Office.
I noted that the Complainant had emailed the WRC in advance of the hearing to advise that she had returned to her home country, and I noted correspondence issued in response to her, advising that as the hearing was a remote hearing it would be possible for her to join the hearing. I noted that no further correspondence was received from the Complainant and that there was no request for a postponement.
On the day of the hearing the WRC made a number of attempts to make phone contact with the Complainant but got no response. In addition, when phone contact could not be made the WRC emailed the Complainant and again no response was received. CA-00057847-001 As no further communication was received at the time of finalising this decision and in the context that I am satisfied that the said complainant was informed in writing of the arrangements for the hearing and in the absence of any explanation for her non-attendance and the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded.
CA-00057847-002 As no further communication was received at the time of finalising this decision and in the context that I am satisfied that the said complainant was informed in writing of the arrangements for the hearing and in the absence of any explanation for her non-attendance and the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded. CA-00057847-003 As no further communication was received at the time of finalising this decision and in the context that I am satisfied that the said complainant was informed in writing of the arrangements for the hearing and in the absence of any explanation for her non-attendance and the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded.
CA-00057847-004 As no further communication was received at the time of finalising this decision and in the context that I am satisfied that the said complainant was informed in writing of the arrangements for the hearing and in the absence of any explanation for her non-attendance and the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
CA-00057847-001 In the absence of any explanation for the Complainant’s non-attendance and in the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded and I decide accordingly. CA-00057847-002 In the absence of any explanation for the Complainant’s non-attendance and in the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded and I decide accordingly.
CA-00057847-003 In the absence of any explanation for the Complainant’s non-attendance and in the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded and I decide accordingly. CA-00057847-004 In the absence of any explanation for the Complainant’s non-attendance and in the absence of evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded and I decide accordingly.
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Dated: 17th October 2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Patricia Owens
Key Words:
Payment of Wages; Terms of Employment; Protection of Employees (Part-time Work) |