Case Number: ADJ-00025207. Workplace Relations Commission

• Docket Number: ADJ-00025207
• Hearing Date: 10 March 2020
• Date: 01 June 2020
• Year: 2020
• Court: Workplace Relations Commission

ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00025207

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Anonymised Parties	An Operations Manager	A Health Company

Complaint(s):

Act	Complaint Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994	CA-00031550-001	14/10/2019

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 10/03/2020

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Valerie Murtagh

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information Act) Act 1994 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.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The complainant is employed as an Operations Manager with the respondent company. She is employed with the company since July 2013. The complainant states that as part of her contract, she benefitted from maternity top-up of €250 weekly from the employer for 26 weeks during her maternity leave in 2018. However when she returned to work following her maternity leave in May 2019 and advised her manager that she was pregnant, she was informed that the company had a change of policy and she was requested to sign a document stating that should she terminate her employment with the company prior to 12 months upon the end of her maternity leave, she will have to return all monies received. The complainant stated that this new policy was published in January 2019 during which time the complainant was still on her first maternity leave. She subsequently found out that none of the staff were informed about the change to the policy and that the company newsletter pointing out this change was only circulated in October 2019. The complainant asserts that her employer never informed her of any changes to this new maternity leave policy with the new condition. The complainant states that she tried to resolve this issue internally but was informed that as part of her contract, she is responsible for informing herself of any...