Case Number: ADJ-00027160. Workplace Relations Commission

Date06 October 2020
Docket NumberADJ-00027160
CourtWorkplace Relations Commission

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 8 (1)(a) of the Unfair Dismissals Act of 1977 (as substituted) and where a claim for redress under the Unfair Dismissals legislation is being made, the claim is referred to the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission who in turn refers any such claim to an Adjudication Officer, so appointed, for the purpose of having the said claim heard in the manner prescribed in Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015. In particular, the said Adjudication Officer is obliged to make all relevant inquiries into the complaint. The Adjudication Officer will additionally and where appropriate hear all relevant oral evidence of the parties and their witnesses and will take into account any and all documentary or other evidence which may be tendered in the course of the hearing.

In circumstances where the fact of dismissal is not in issue, the evidential burden of truth rests with the Respondent. Per Section 6(6)of the 1977 Act, in determining for the purposes of the Acts whether or not a dismissal of an employee was an unfair dismissal or not it shall be for the employer to show that the dismissal resulted wholly or mainly from one or other of the specified grounds (as outlined in the Act – conduct, redundancy etc.), or that there were other substantial reasons justifying the dismissal.

An Adjudication Officer must, in determining if a dismissal is unfair, have regard to the reasonableness or otherwise of the conduct (whether by act or omission) of the employer in relation to the dismissal (per Section 7).

In this particular instance, and in circumstances where the Complainant herein has referred a complaint of having been unfairly dismissed form her place of employment wherein she had worked for in excess of one year and where the Workplace Relations Complaint Form (dated the 20th of February 2020) issued within six months of his dismissal, I am satisfied that I (an Adjudication Officer so appointed) have jurisdiction to hear the within matter.

Where an employee has been dismissed and the dismissal is found to be unfair the employee shall be entitled to redress pursuant to Section 7 of the 1977 Act. Such redress might include re-instatement, re-engagement or compensation for any financial loss attributable to the dismissal where compensation for such loss does not exceed 104 weeks remuneration. The acts, omissions and conduct of both parties will be taken into account when considering the extent of the financial loss and there is an onus on a Complainant to adopt measures to mitigate the financial/ remunerative loss (which includes actual loss as well as estimated prospective loss).

In addition to the Complaint brought under the Unfair Dismissals legislation above, the Complainant has made further allegations that the Employer herein has contravened provisions and/or enactments of Acts (generally protective employment Acts) which have been specified in Schedule 5 of the Workplace Relations Act of 2015. As the Adjudicator assigned to deal with these matters, my obligation is to hear these further complaints in accordance with the mechanism set out in part 4 (and in particular, section 41) of the 2015 Act. Having heard the complaints in the manner so prescribed I am entitled to consider redress in accordance with the Redress Provisions outlined in Schedule 6 of the Workplace Relations Act of 2015.

Background:

The parties were both notified of today’s hearing date on the 4th of August 2020. I am satisfied that the correct Respondent has been named and that the letter inviting the said Respondent to the hearing was sent to the nominated Registered Office and marked for the attention of the Director (KA), which person was at all times the person from whom the Complainant received day to day instruction regarding her employment.

Having allowed for a bit of time for the Respondent to appear I proceeded to hear the...

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