MND234

1. Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No(S) ADJ-00037042, CA-00048073-002

BACKGROUND:

2. The Worker appealed the Decision of the Adjudication Officer to the Labour Court on 19th December 2022 in accordance with Section 44 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015. A Labour Court hearing took place on 23 March 2023. The following is the Determination of the Court:

DETERMINATION:

This is an appeal by Mr Mark Smith (“the Complainant”) against an Adjudication Officer’s Decision ADJ-00037042 - CA-00048073-002) given under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973-2015 (“the Act”) in a claim by him against his former employer Thornton Construction (“the Respondent”).

Mr Smith did not attend the hearing at first instance. The Adjudication Officer held that the claim was not well founded.

A Labour Court hearing was held on 23 March 2023. This claim is linked to claim RPA/23/1.

The Law

Section 4 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973-2015 states:

• 
  (1) An employer shall, in order to terminate the contract of employment of an employee who has been in his continuous service for a period of thirteen weeks or more, give to that employee a minimum period of notice calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.
  
  (2) The minimum notice to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of his employee shall be—
  • (a) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for less than two years, one week,
    (b) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for two years or more, but less than five years, two weeks,
    (c) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for five years or more, but less than ten years, four weeks,
    (d) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for ten years or more, but less than fifteen years, six weeks,
    (e) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for fifteen years or more, eight weeks

The termination of Complainant’s employment was the subject of a claim under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967, and the subject of an appeal to this Court. The Complainant’s appeal under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 (RPD233) was heard in conjunction with the within appeal.

In that case, the Court determined that the Complainant’s employment was terminated by reason of redundancy on 30 July 2021. It follows therefore, that the Complainant has an entitlement to statutory notice under the 1973 Act.

The Complainant had in excess of 14 years’ continuous service with the Respondent and, therefore, accrued an entitlement to six weeks’ notice pursuant to section 4 of the Act.

Determination

The complaint is well founded, and the decision of the Adjudication Officer is set aside.

The Respondent is directed to pay the Complainant the sum of €4,410.00 in respect of his statutory entitlement to notice under the Act.

The Court so determines.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Katie Connolly
NCL	______________________
5 April 2023	Deputy Chairman