Case Number: ADJ-00008005 conjoined with ADJ 7418. Workplace Relations Commission

• Judgment Date: 01 October 2017
• Year: 2017
• Docket Number: ADJ-00008005 conjoined with ADJ 7418
• Court: Workplace Relations Commission
• Parties: A Manager V A Pizza Company

ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00008005 conjoined with ADJ 7418 Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	A Manager	A Pizza Company

Complaints:

Act	Complaint Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977	CA-00010596-001	03/04/2017
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 11 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973	CA-00010596-002	03/04/2017
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991	CA-00010596-003	03/04/2017
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00010596-004	03/04/2017

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 01/08/2017

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Patsy Doyle

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 2015, Section 11 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act,1973, Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 and Section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act , 1997 following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints .

Background:

The Complainant submitted that a transfer of undertakings occurred at his workplace during December 5, 2016, the effect of which caused him to lose his job .This case is con joined with ADJ 7418.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant, a British National commenced work as a General Assistant at a Pizza Business on 21 September,2015 He signed a contract of employment for a 20 hour week on 21 September . In October, 2015, he was offered the Managers position, without an increase in wages and worked a 54 hour week over a 6 day week. He worked this arrangement until December 5, 2016 .He received a nett payment of €83 per day and there was a disparity in the electronic pay slips which under recorded the payments, which were made in cash. Every Sunday, the Complainant submitted that he reported to the owner of the then business, Mr A via text and phone. He submitted records of the exchange of texts from December 2015 to 24 October 2016. He submitted that he reported on weekly sales, expenditure, staff pay, rent and proceeds banked. He had a good relationship with the then owner, Mr A .On 5 December, 2016 he was informed that the Business had been sold to Mr B. CA-00010596-001 On 5 December 2016, the complainant arrived for his shift at 3.30 pm as usual to find the then owner there in the company of 5 men, he didn’t know. Mr A told him that one of the five men was Mr B, the new owner and that the complainant’s job was gone .This was the first that the complainant had heard of this and was shocked. The Complainants representative detailed that Mr B told the complainant that he had his own staff, who were relatives of Mr B. The Complainant then commenced work before he was asked to leave the premises by Mr B. The Gardaí were called, who informed the complainant that he should work for the rest of the shift, which he did. Mr A paid the complainant €2,500 in unpaid holiday pay . At the end of the day ,the complainant stated that he had been pushed around and had €1,000 taken from his pocket .The Complainant submitted a complaint of assault , which is currently before the DPP .The Complainant wrote to Mr B on 13 December seeking payment for his days pay ,one months pay in lieu of notice and compensation for unfair dismissal He did not receive a reply and tried again on 6 the January, 2017 without success. He requested a copy of his employee file from Mr A, only to be informed on 28 March 2017 that the business had been transferred to Mr BSc company business name. His P 45 was attached, where the incorrect PPSN number was listed and the PRSI details were incorrect. The Complainant contended that he had been unfairly dismissed as Mr B terminated his employment without notice on the day that a Transfer of Undertakings had taken affect at the business .The Complainant had submitted mirrored claims in ADJ 7418 naming the transferee as the Respondent . Evidence of the Complainant : The Complainant submitted that he had heard some talk about a new owner taking over the business as the Driver had told him that his own job was safe, based on his local knowledge of the area. During the last week of November, he sought advice on the prospect of a change in the business. He recalled December 5,...