Case Number: UDD1836. Labour Court

• Judgment Date: 01 June 2018
• Docket Number: UDD1836
• Court: Labour Court (Ireland)

FULL RECOMMENDATION UD/17/11 DETERMINATIONNO.UDD1836 r-155830-ud-15 ; SECTION 8A, UNFAIR DISMISSAL ACTS, 1977 TO 2015 ; PARTIES : M�R OIL LTD; (REPRESENTED BY ALASTAIR PURDY & CO., SOLICITORS); - AND -; MONIRUL ISLAM; (REPRESENTED BY CL�ONA BOLAND, B.L., INSTRUCTED BY GREG NOLAN, SOLICITORS); DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson; Employer Member: Mr Murphy; Worker Member: Mr McCarthy

SUBJECT:
1. Appeal of Rights Commissioner/Adjudication Officer Recommendation No. r-155830-ud-15.


BACKGROUND:

2. The Employer appealed the Recommendation of the Rights Commissioner/Adjudication Officer to the Labour Court in accordance with Section 8A of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 to 2015 on 13 January 2017. A Labour Court hearing took place 27 March 2018. The following is the Determination of the Court::



DETERMINATION:

Mr Monirul Islam brought a complaint before a Rights Commissioner pursuant to the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 (the Act) alleging that he was unfairly dismissed by his employer, M�r Oil Limited. The Adjudication Officer found in his favour and awarded him the sum of €25,000. The employer appealed that Decision to the Labour Court.

For ease of reference the parties are referred to as they were at first instance. Hence Mr Islam is referred to as "the Complainant" and M�r Oil Limited is referred to as "the Respondent".

Preliminary Issue

At the outset of the hearing of the appeal before the Labour Court, Mr Alastair Purdy, Alastair Purdy & Co. Solicitors, on behalf of the Respondent (which had initiated the appeal before this Court), raised a preliminary objection to the Court’s jurisdiction to hear and determine the appeal. He did so on the basis of the decision of the High Court inNurendale Ltd T/A Panda Waste -v- The Labour Court[2017] IEHC 806 (hereinafter referred to as‘Nurendale’).

Nurendaleconcerned an application by way of judicial review to quash a Determination of this Court in an appeal from a Recommendation of a Rights Commissioner given under the Act. The case in which the Recommendation was given had been initiated before the commencement of certain sections of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (hereafter the 2015 Act) which, in effect, transferred the appellate jurisdiction under the Act from the Employment Appeals Tribunal to this Court. The relevant Recommendation was issued after the commencement of those sections on 1^stOctober 2015.

The respondent in that case before this Court participated fully in the appeal without demur....