ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00012202
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A general operative | A laundry |
Complaint:
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-00016171-001 | 6/Dec/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 25/May/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, this complaint was assigned to me by the Director General. A hearing was arranged for April 18th 2018. The respondent and his advisor attended but the complainant arrived without the solicitor named on his submission form as the person who would be representing him. While he indicated that he was willing to proceed with the hearing, it soon became clear that he did not have a proficiency in English to be able to give evidence in respect of his complaint, although he had not requested the assistance of an interpreter. He also had his four-year old son at the hearing, as he said that his wife was working and he couldn’t get a babysitter. I adjourned the hearing and advised the complainant to arrange to be represented at a re-scheduled hearing and I gave instructions for a Romanian interpreter to attend.
The complaint was re-scheduled for a hearing on May 25th. The respondent attended with his advisor, but the complainant did not attend, although he was properly on notice on notice.
Decision:
Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the unfair dismissal claim consisting of a grant of redress in accordance with section 7 of the 1977 Act.
I find that the complainant’s failure to attend the hearing scheduled for May 25th2018 was unreasonable in the circumstances and any obligation under section 7 of the Unfair Dismissals Act has ceased. As no evidence was given at the hearing in support of the complaint of unfair dismissal, I conclude the investigation and find against the complainant. |
Dated: 4th September 2018.
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
Non-attendance by the complainant |