UDD2635 - Workplace Relations Commission TESCO IRELAND (REPRESENTED BY IBEC) AND MUHAMMAD USMAN ZAFAR

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Court: Workplace Relations Commission
• Judgment Date: 24 September 2026

UD/24/164 DECISION NO. UDD2635

SECTION 44, WORKPLACE RELATIONS ACT, 2015

SECTION 8A, UNFAIR DISMISSALS ACTS, 1977 TO 2015

PARTIES:

TESCO IRELAND

(REPRESENTED BY IBEC)

AND

MUHAMMAD USMAN ZAFAR

DIVISION:

Chairman:	Ms McGowan
Employer Member:	Mr O'Brien
Worker Member:	Mr Bell

SUBJECT :

Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No.: ADJ-00047435 (CA-00057610-001)

BACKGROUND:

The Employee appealed the Decision of the Adjudication Officer to the Labour Court on 24 November 2024 in accordance with Section 8A of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 to 2015. A Labour Court hearing took place on 21 July 2026.

The following is the Decision of the Court.

DECISION :

1. Appeal Details

This is an appeal by Mr Muhammad Usman Zafar against a Decision of an Adjudication Officer (ADJ-00047435/CA-00057610-001) made under the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 to 2015 (the UD Act) in a complaint against Tesco Ireland. The Adjudication Officer’s decision, dated 15 October 2024, found that the complaint was out of time and not well founded.

For ease, the parties are referred to in the same way as at first instance, so Mr Zafar is referred to as “the Complainant” and Tesco Ireland as “the Respondent”.

At the hearing of the Court on 21 July 2026 in Dublin, the Complainant was unrepresented and unaccompanied. The Respondent was represented by Ms Emily Maverley from Ibec. The Court received written submissions from both parties in advance of the hearing and heard oral submissions from both parties at the hearing. The Complainant gave evidence under oath and was cross examined by the Respondent’s representative.

2. Summary of the Respondent’s Submission

The Respondent said that the Complainant was employed as a customer assistant on nights since 8 March 2021, working 30-35 hours per week at a rate of €14.60 per hour. The Respondent was aware that he was also working a second job for a different employer.

The Respondent’s position was that the Complainant had verbally resigned his employment on 26 November 2022 following a meeting in which the Complainant’s application for a career break was refused. He did not attend work after that date and his last date of work was 20 November 2022. Efforts were made to contact the Complainant by telephone thereafter but to no avail. A registered letter was sent to the Complainant’s home address on 16 December 2022, which was signed for as received, noting the Complainant’s expressed wish to resign and asking him to confirm his resignation in writing. The letter also afforded the Complainant the opportunity to contact the Respondent within seven days if he did not wish to resign. No response was received from the Complainant to that letter. The Complainant was registered as a leaver with Revenue on 16 January 2023 with a leaving date of 26 November 2022. The Complainant made no contact with the Respondent until an email of 13 April 2023 where he sought to return to work

The Respondent disputed that the Complainant had been dismissed. Further, in circumstances where the last date of employment was 26 November 2022 the Complainant’s claim was statute barred having only been submitted to the WRC on 9 July 2023, outside the time limits set out in section 8(2) of the UD Act.

3. Summary of the Complainant’s Submission

The Complainant said that he was employed by Respondent since March 2021. In or around August 2022 the Complainant applied for a career break to undertake a course of study, which was not approved by the Respondent. In a meeting on 26 November 2022 the Complainant said that the Respondent still refused his application for a career break despite him explaining that he had been granted a place on the course on scholarship so that the course was free for him. He informed the Respondent that “I only have one way, which is to leave that job because I can’t leave the scholarship”. The Complainant said he did not receive any written correspondence from the Respondent in December 2022. He said he was in touch with the store on 17 December 2022 to let them know he had Covid.

After completion of his course, the Complainant went to the Respondent’s store on 12 April 2023, following up by email on 13 April 2023, to “let them know I wanted to come back to work”. He said the Respondent’s response was that his employment had been terminated after he had informed the Respondent of his wish to resign. The Complainant denied having resigned noting that he had not provided a letter of resignation.

The Complainant said that in or around two months later he met a family friend who advised him to contact the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The Complainant said the WRC advised him that he was out of time for bringing a claim but that an extension of time could be granted. The Complainant said that he was not aware of his rights in Ireland as he had come from Pakistan where he said one has no recourse for termination of employment. The Complainant’s WRC form, submitted on 9 July 2023, referenced 15 December 2022 as the date of dismissal.

4. Summary of the Complainant’s Evidence

The Complainant gave evidence under oath. The Complainant confirmed his employment with the Respondent and that he was also employed by M&S at the time. He was granted a career break from M&S to undertake the course and resumed his employment thereafter and remains employed there. The Complainant gave evidence of wanting to take a career break from the Respondent and that he believed it was being positively considered but it was refused. He confirmed that he had informed the Respondent verbally, in the meeting of 26 November 2022 when the refusal was confirmed, that he had “only one option which is to resign” and that he “would like to resign”. He confirmed that the last day he worked in the Respondent was 20 November 2022 and that he was not in touch with the Respondent between 17 December 2022 and his oral evidence that he returned on [14] April 2023. The Complainant denied receiving any registered letters and said neither he nor anyone in his family had signed for the letters but confirmed they were correctly addressed. The Complainant confirmed that he had no conversations with HR...