EMPLOYMENT APPEALS TRIBUNAL
CASE NO.
UD385/2014
CLAIM OF:
Liam O'Neill
against
ABC Fire Systems Limited
under
UNFAIR DISMISSALS ACTS 1977 TO 2007
I certify that the Tribunal
(Division of Tribunal)
Chairman: Ms. E. Daly B.L.
Members: Mr. D. Morrison
Ms. A. Moore
heard this claim at Letterkenny on 6th July and 21st October 2015
Representation:
Claimant : Mr Paddy Hannigan, Letterkenny Citizens’ Information Service, Neil Blaney Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Respondent : PA Dorrian & Co, Solicitors, Main Street, Buncrana, Co Donegal
The determination of the Tribunal was as follows:
Claimant’s Case
Prior to joining the respondent in 2000 the claimant was experienced in the sales and maintenance of fire appliances. He needed little training to perform those tasks and already had an established customer base as part of his work he was provided with a van for which he could also use for personal reasons, a laptop, and mobile phone to allow him to carry out his work. However, he was not furnished with a contract of employment.
The claimant spent a lot of his working time away from the office dealing with and attending to customer needs. When the claimant received a monthly customer contact list he then had the freedom to organise and plan his schedule and submitted invoices on a weekly basis to the office. Initially he got on well with the owner but soon had regular and ongoing difficulties in contracting him. Relations with the owner deteriorated in 2010 when he introduced time sheets which the claimant regarded as unwelcome and unnecessary. In his opinion those sheets undermined and destabilised the proven trust and reliability he gave to his employer. However, he recognised the respondent’s entitlement to do this.
In 2012 the owner informed all staff including the claimant that tracking devices were installed and operating on their work vans and that those vehicles were solely for work purposes. The claimant found this edict offensive, hostile and an example of the continuing undermining of his time and work. He felt that this development was intrusive and amounted to excessive surveillance. However, he did not formally raise that issue with his employer at any time citing the absence of the owner as a major reason for that. The claimant continued to work under these conditions up to January 2014 when an incident over time sheets became “the last straw”.
The time sheet incident between him and owner demerged over what constituted the claimant’s starting work time-each party insisting on different times. As a protest the claimant opted not to fill in time for a week and elicited a negative response from the owner. Prior to meeting him on 27 January the claimant considered his position and decided to give his notice to resign at that meeting. In accepting his notice the owner however, told him to leave immediately and return the entire respondent’s property. The claimant had not raised the issue of the time sheets with the owner.
Determination
The claimant’s case is for constructive dismissal. Based on his evidence the Tribunal finds that he has not demonstrated that his work circumstances and situation merited his decision to resign from the respondent. Prior to an involuntary resignation an employee must exhaust all reasonable attempts to resolve their complainants and grievances with their employer. As an initial step an employee must inform their employer of the issues causing those complainants and grievances. Making the employer aware of them allows the respondent to address those concerns. There is no evidence that this initial step was properly undertaken by the claimant in this case.
The claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 2007 fails.
Sealed with the Seal of the
Employment Appeals Tribunal
This ________________________
(Sgd.) ________________________
(CHAIRMAN)