ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00052987

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	Paulo Lima	Bidvest Noonan (RoI) Limited

Representatives

Represented himself

Brian Kavanagh, IBEC

Complaints:

Act	Complaint Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00064831-001	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991	CA-00064831-002	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991	CA-00064831-003	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00064831-004	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00064831-005	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00064831-006	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00064831-007	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00064831-008	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977	CA-00064831-009	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998	CA-00064831-012	17/07/2024
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 77 of the Employment Equality Act, 1998	CA-00064831-013	17/07/2024

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 22/01/2025

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne

Procedure:

In accordance with section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 - 2015, section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 - 2015, these complaints were assigned to me by the Director General. I conducted a hearing on January 22nd 2025, at which I made enquiries and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence relevant to the complaints. The complainant, Mr Paulo Lima, represented himself, with the assistance of a Portuguese interpreter, Ms Monica Sanchiz. Bidvest Noonan (RoI) Limited was represented by Mr Brian Kavanagh of IBEC. Ms Elaine McCarry, a key account manager from the company, also attended.

Background:

Mr Lima is from Brazil and he joined Bidvest Noonan (RoI) Limited in October 2020. At the start of his employment, he was assigned to a job as a cleaner in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin and subsequently, he transferred to the ESB offices in Leopardstown. A copy of a text message he sent to the key account manager, Ms McCarry on August 3rd 2023, shows that he resigned that day. In his message, he explained that, although he liked working in the ESB, he was moving to a full-time job for which he is trained. At the hearing, Mr Lima explained that he is a qualified nurse, and he got a job as a care assistant. He said that he plans to qualify as a nurse in Ireland, so this job as a care assistant was more relevant for his experience.

Mr Lima said that his complaints are about a disagreement between him and his supervisor when he was working in St Vincent’s. He said that his shift finished at 12.00 midnight and he was accused of leaving at 10.00pm and he wasn’t paid for two hours that he worked. He also said that his supervisor asked him to do work that was outside his list of duties and he refused. This is the reason he was transferred to the ESB offices in Leopardstown.

In his submission in advance of the hearing, on behalf of the respondent, Mr Kavanagh submitted that Mr Lima’s complaints have been submitted outside the time limit specified at s.41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. Mr Lima submitted these complaints to the WRC on July 17th 2024. At the hearing, I asked him why he submitted the complaints nine months after he left, and he said that he got this advice from his friends.

Before giving any consideration to the substantive issues, I must determine if I have jurisdiction, in accordance with s.41 of the Workplace Relations Act, to investigate the Mr Lima’s claims.

Preliminary Issue, Time Limit for Submitting a Complaint:

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.

Section 41(8) permits an extension of the time limit to 12 months:

“An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than six months after such expiration) as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the case or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause.”

Mr Lima did not seek an extension of the time limit and, even he had, his explanation that his friends advised him to submit the complaints after 11 months is not a reasonable cause for the delay.

Based on the evidence submitted by Mr Lima at the hearing, I am satisfied that he was not dismissed from his job but that he resigned on August 6th 2023 to take up a new position as a care assistant and to further his career in nursing. I find also that his complaints have been submitted outside the time limit specified at s.41(6) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. I must conclude therefore that, due to the expiry of the time limit, I have no jurisdiction to adjudicate on these complaints.

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.

Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the unfair dismissal claim consisting of a grant of redress in accordance with section 7 of the 1977 Act.

Section 79 of the Employment Equality Acts, 1998 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under section 82 of the Act.

I decide that I have no jurisdiction to adjudicate on these complaints because they have been submitted outside the time limit prescribed at section 41(6) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015.

Dated: 27th January 2025.

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne

Key Words:

Time limit for submitting a complaint.