Recommendation

Industrial Relations Act 1969

Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR-SC 00003904

Parties:

	Worker	Employer
Anonymised Parties	A Technical Support Engineer	A Heat Pump Manufacturing Company

Representatives

Did not attend the hearing

Beauchamps Solicitors

Dispute:

Act

Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969

IR-SC 00003904

04/03/2025

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne

Date of Hearing: 28/07/2025

Procedure:

In accordance with section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (as amended), this dispute was assigned to me for investigation by the Director General. A hearing was arranged for Monday, July 28th 2025 at 9.30am. Mr Patrick Watters of Beauchamps Solicitors attended to represent the employer. Mr Watters was accompanied by the company’s HR manager and technical manager and by a colleague from the legal firm, Mr Conor Grogan.

On June 9th 2025, when he was notified of the date of the hearing, the worker requested permission to attend remotely. This was facilitated and arrangements were made for him to attend a “hybrid” hearing on Monday July 28th 2025 at 9.30am. On Friday, July 25th at 6.54am, the worker wrote to the WRC and stated that he would not attend the hearing because he would be travelling at the same time. The person dealing with this correspondence informed him that the hearing would proceed as scheduled and that he could raise his concerns with the adjudication officer when the hearing opened. By 9.45am on the day of the hearing, he had not logged in and he submitted no further correspondence to explain his decision not to attend.

Recommendation:

Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.

In the circumstances in which the worker did not attend the hearing, I recommend that the parties take no further action regarding the matter in dispute.

Dated: 06-08-2025