ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00001319
Complaint/Dispute for Resolution:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 | CA-00001804-001 | 07/01/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 19/04/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: John Walsh
Venue:
Ardboyne Hotel Navan
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and under section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1997 following the referral of the complaint/dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint/dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint/dispute.
Background:
The Complainant was employed as a porter with the Respondent from the 6th of June 2014 to the 4th of May 2015 and again from the 28th of September 2015 to the 29th September 2015. He worked a maximum of 30 hours per week during the first period of his employment and worked weekends only for the second period of employment. He alleges that he was unfairly dismissed by the Respondent on the 29th of December 2015 without due process or fair procedures and contrary to the terms of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1997. He filed his complaint with the Workplace Relations Commission on the 7th of January 2016.
Respondent’s Submission:
The Respondent’s representative stated that the Complainant worked for over two different periods. He worked from the 6th of June 2014 to the 24th of May 2015. He left his employment to go to the U.S. and was issued with a P45. When he returned from the U.S. he sought work at the hotel he was offered part-time work at weekends from the 28th of September 2015 to the 29th of September 2015. When there was no further work available for him he was let go from the organisation. The Complainant was not unfairly dismissed from his employment. The Complainant resigned from his employment on the 24th of May to go to the U.S. and he was let go at the end of his second period of employment as his services were no longer required at weekends.
Complainant’s Submission:
The complainant worked as a porter with the Respondent over two specific periods of time. At the end of the first period of employment he decided to go to the U.S. and work for the summer months. On his return the Respondent offered him temporary weekend work from the 28th of September 2015 to the 29th of December 2015. He was dismissed from his employment without due process or fair procedures and in his opinion the Respondent could have retained him.
Findings:
The Complainant filed his complaint with the Workplace Relations Commission under section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977. Section 2.1 of the 1997 act provides
EXCLUSIONS
“[Except in so far as any provision of this act otherwise provides], this act shall not apply to any of the following persons
An employee (other than a person referred to in section 4 of this act who is dismissed, at the date of his dismissal, had less than one year’s continuous service with the employer who dismissed him.”
As the Complainant did not have at the date of his dismissal for either period of employment one year’s continuous service with the Respondent, he is excluded from taking a claim under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.
Decision:
Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act, and under section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 I find that the complaint is not well-founded and therefore it fails as the Complainant does not have twelve months continuous service with the Respondent
Dated: 12th July 2016