Case Number: ADJ-00000350. Workplace Relations Commission
Docket Number | ADJ-00000350 |
Date | 23 February 2016 |
Court | Workplace Relations Commission |
Parties | An Employee v An Employer |
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00000350
Complaint for Resolution:
Act |
Complaint/Dispute Reference No. |
Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 |
CA-00000511-001 |
29/10/2015 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977-2007 |
CA-00000511-002 |
29/10/2015 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 |
CA-00000511-003 |
29/10/2015 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 03/02/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Pat Brady
Procedure:In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 8(1B) of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977, following the referral of the complaint 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)/dispute(s).
Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:
The complainant was employed as a sheet metal fabricator from January 28th 2014 until the time of his dismissal on September 4th 2015 at a rate of €12 per hour. He regularly worked significant levels of overtime which could take his working week up to sixty five hours.
He sustained an injury at work around June 12th 2015 which required surgery and he did not return to work up and including the time of his termination on September 4th when the respondent issued him with a P45. He gave no reason why the employment had been terminated. On September 29th, his solicitor requested the reasons for his termination pursuant to section 14 of the Unfair Dismissals Act.
No reply was received which the complainant says is procedurally and substantively unfair having regard to section 6 of the Act.
Accordingly he sought compensation under the Unfair Dismissals Acts but submitted that regard should be had not just to his actual loss, but his future losses and the breach of his rights under the Acts
He also submitted that he was not given a week’s notice as provided by his contract and that a claim arises under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, in the amount of one week’s wages.
He also claims four weeks holidays which he would have been due under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:
The respondent does not dispute the termination of employment but says it was by reason of redundancy. In evidence a director of the company said that its business was seasonal as the demand for its products peaked in the summer and then tailed off.
From September on demand for its products is low and the company has in the past made employees redundant at that time.
In September 2015 it made the complainant and another employee recruited at the same time as the complainant redundant as they had been most recently recruited to the company which employs a total of six employees at full production.
The witness said that the complainant and his co-worker were told at the point of interview that their continued employment would be subject to availability of work and that it was seasonal work
A document entitled ‘Principle [sic] Statement of Terms of Conditions of Employment was exhibited which was accepted as having been given to the complainant. However, the respondent agreed it did not contain any reference to the contract being subject to a fixed terms or purpose.
The witness accepted that the complainant had not been put on notice of redundancy, there had been no selection process, and the company made no specific contact with him regarding the proposed termination. There had been a vague conversation to the effect that the company’s immediate future prospects were ‘not looking good’.
The witness said that employees were selected for termination every year on the basis of ‘Last in, First out’.
Findings and ConclusionsI have considered all the relevant evidence and argument, oral and written that was laid before me in the course of the hearing and before it.
The first question relates to the nature of the termination. On the face of it, there were two posts (possibly three) which were no longer needed in view of the company’s trading situation and were probably redundant.
However, the matter does not end there, indeed it only begins there....
To continue reading
Request your trial