Case Number: ADJ-00020182. Workplace Relations Commission

• Judgment Date: 01 March 2021
• Court: Workplace Relations Commission
• Docket Number: ADJ-00020182
• Respondent: A Statutory Body

ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00020182

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	An Adjudicator (1)	A Statutory Body

Representatives Mr. Myles Gilvarry, Solicitor, Gilvarry & Associates Mr. Desmond Ryan BL on the instructions of the Respondent’s inhouse Solicitor

Complaints:

Act	Complaint Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 16 of the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001	CA-00026532-001	26/02/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 14 of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003	CA-00026532-002	26/02/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 14 of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003	CA-00026532-003	26/02/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 14 of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003	CA-00026532-004	26/02/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00026532-005	26/02/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00026532-006	26/02/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00026532-007	26/02/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997	CA-00026532-008	26/02/2019

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/10/2020 and28/01/2021

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Enda Murphy

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.

The within complaints were assigned to me for inquiry by the Director General on 11 September, 2020.

Background:

The Respondent is a statutory body which was established in 2015. The Complainant was appointed as an Adjudicator by the Minister under statute on establishment of the Respondent to adjudicate upon complaints and disputes that fall within the remit of this body. The Complainant also worked as an Adjudicator for the Respondent’s predecessor body from August, 2003 until October, 2015. The Complainant’s appointment as an Adjudicator with the Respondent was revoked by the Minister on 25 October, 2018. The Complainant claims that he was treated less favourably than other comparable full-time workers in relation to his conditions of employment contrary to Section 9(1) of the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001. The Complainant claims that he was treated less favourably than other comparable permanent workers in relation to his conditions of employment contrary to Section 6(1) of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003. The Complainant claims that he was employed on multiple fixed term contracts for 15 years without being offered a contract of indefinite duration and therefore the Respondent has contravened the provisions of Section 9(2) of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003 in relation to his employment. The Complainant claims that the Respondent contravened the provisions of Section 8(2) of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003 by failing to offer a written statement setting out the objective grounds justifying the renewal of a fixed-term contract and the failure to offer a contract of indefinite duration. The Complainant claims that the Respondent has contravened the following provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 in relation to his employment, namely Section 19 in relation to his holiday entitlements and Section 21 in relation to his public holiday entitlements. The Respondent disputes all of the abovementioned claims under the respective enactments in question. Procedural issues in relation to the conduct of the inquiry into the complaints Prior to the initial hearing on 14 October, 2020, the Respondent raised a preliminary issue in relation to the jurisdiction of the Adjudication Officer to inquire into the within complaints under the enactments in question. The Respondent submitted that it had been incorrectly named as a Respondent in these proceedings and that no employment...