Medicall Ambulance Ltd (Represented by Management Support Services (IRL) Ltd) v Aidan Ryan

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 06 January 2020
• Judgment citation (vLex): [2020] 1 JIEC 0608
• Date: 2020
• Docket Number: FULL RECOMMENDATION DETERMINATION NO.TED201 ADJ-00021258 CA-00028062-003
• Court: Labour Court (Ireland)

PARTIES:

Medicall Ambulance Limited (Represented by Management Support Services (IRL) Ltd)

and

Aidan Ryan

FULL RECOMMENDATION

TE/19/61

DETERMINATION NO.TED201

ADJ-00021258 CA-00028062-003

Labour Court

DIVISION:

Chairman: Mr Haugh

Employer Member: Mr Murphy

Worker Member: Mr McCarthy

SECTION 8 (1), TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT (INFORMATION) ACTS, 1994 TO 2014

SUBJECT:

1 1. Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision Nos. ADJ-00021258/CA-00028062-002.

BACKGROUND:

2 2. This is an appeal under Section 8(1) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts, 1994 to 2014. A Labour Court hearing took place on 5th December 2019. The following is the Court's Determination:-

DETERMINATION:

3 This is an appeal on behalf of Medicall Ambulance Limited (‘the Respondent’) from a decision of an Adjudication Officer (ADJ-00021258/CA-00028062-003, dated 11 September 2019) under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 (‘the Act’). The Notice of Appeal was received by the Court on 27 September 2019. The Court heard the appeal in Dublin on 5 December 2019.

4 Mr Aidan Ryan (‘the Complainant’) referred his complaint under the Act to the Workplace Relations Commission on 24 April 2019. The Complainant's claim is that the Respondent failed to notify him in writing, in accordance with section 5 of the Act, of certain changes introduced to the payroll system in January 2019.

5 It is common case that the Respondent re-organised the method by which it calculated employees' pay in early 2019. From that time onwards, pay has been calculated in accordance with actual time worked. The change was introduced, in the Respondent's submission, in order to align its payroll function with the changes to the PAYE system brought into effect by Revenue on 1 January 2019. Up to, and including, December 2018, the Complainant received a regular monthly payment totalling €2,333.33 to include basic pay and overtime. Since January 2019, his monthly payment has varied to reflect the different stages in his shift cycle.

6 The Complainant's case is that this change was a material change to his terms and conditions of employment, that he should have been notified in writing of it in accordance with section 5 of the Act and that no such written notification issued to him. The Respondent submits that staff were notified in writing of the above changes by letter dated 3 January 2019. The Complainant denies that he received any such letter. The Respondent also opened a chain of email correspondence...