UDD2335 - Labour Court BOSTON SCIENTIFIC LIMITED T/A BOSTON SCIENTIFIC (REPRESENTED BY IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION) - AND - JACK HARGRAVE (REPRESENTED BY LAURNA MADDEN BL, INSTRUCTED FACHTNA O'DRISCOLL SO...

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 30 August 2023
• Court: Labour Court (Ireland)

FULL RECOMMENDATION; UD/23/19; ADJ-00027354 CA-00034995-001 DETERMINATION NO. UDD2335 ; SECTION 8A, UNFAIR DISMISSAL ACTS, 1977 TO 2015 ; PARTIES: BOSTON SCIENTIFIC LIMITED T/A BOSTON SCIENTIFIC; (REPRESENTED BY IRISH BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS' CONFEDERATION); - AND -; JACK HARGRAVE; (REPRESENTED BY LAURNA MADDEN BL, INSTRUCTED FACHTNA O'DRISCOLL SOLICITORS); DIVISION: Chairman: Ms O'Donnell Employer Member: Mr Marie Worker Member: Ms Treacy ; SUBJECT : 1. Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No(S) ADJ-00027354 CA-00034995-001; BACKGROUND : 2. The Worker appealed the Decision of the Adjudication Officer to the Labour Court on 24 January 2023 in accordance with Section 8A of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 to 2015. A Labour Court hearing took place on 26 June 2023. The following is the Determination of the Court: -; DETERMINATION : BACKGROUND This is an appeal by Jack Hargrave (hereafter “the Complainant”) against an Adjudication Officer’s Decision ADJ-00027354 given under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015 (the Acts) in a claim that Boston Scientific Ltd (hereafter “the Respondent”) unfairly dismissed him. The Adjudication Officer held that the Complainant had less than one year’s continuous service and therefore cannot maintain a complaint under the Act. At the commencement of the hearing the Court informed the parties that it would hear them in respect of the preliminary issue relating to the submission of the appeal outside of the statutory time limits. In the course of hearing the preliminary issue, the Court drew the party’s attention to a recent decision of the High Court Mc Loughlin v Murray Senior [2022] IEHC 537, and facilitated the parties making written submissions in respect of it.; Preliminary issue Ms Madden BL on the behalf of the Complainant sought an extension of time in respect of the time limit set out in the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (“the Act”) at Section 44(3) as regards the making of an appeal against the decision of an Adjudication Officer. The Act at Section 44(2), (3) and (4) provides as follows: (2) An appeal under this section shall be initiated by the party concerned giving a notice in writing to the Labour Court containing such particulars as are determined by the Labour Court in accordance with rules under subsection (5) of section 20 of the Act of 1946 and stating that the party concerned is appealing the decision to which it relates. (3) Subject to subsection (4) , a notice under subsection (2) shall be given to the Labour Court not later than 42 days fro m the date of the decision concerned. (4) The Labour Court may direct that a notice under subsection (2) may be given to it after the expiration of the period specified in subsection (3) if it is satisfied that the notice was not so given before such expiration due to the existence of exceptional circumstances. In the within case, the Adjudication Officer made a Decision in relation to the complaint of the Complainant under the Acts against his employer, the Respondent, on 12 th December 2022. An appeal against that Decision, were it to be made within the time limit specified at Section 44(3) of the Act, would require to be made no later than 22 nd January 2023. The appeal was received by this Court on 24

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