ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00047806
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent/s |
Parties | Mark Blake | A Director / Dannan Air Limited |
Representatives | Self-represented | Jason Murray BL instructed by McCartan & Burke Solicitors |
Complaints:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 | CA-00058109-001 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 | CA-00058109-002 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 | CA-00058109-003 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Regulation 18 of the European Communities (Road Transport)(Organisation of Working Time of Persons Performing Mobile Road Transport Activities) Regulations 2012 - S.I. No. 36/2012 | CA-00058109-004 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 | CA-00058109-005 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 | CA-00058109-006 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 | CA-00058109-007 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 77 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 | CA-00058109-014 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 81E of the Pensions Act 1990 as amended by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 | CA-00058109-015 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Schedule 2 of the Employment Permits Act 2006 | CA-00058109-016 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 77 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 | CA-00058109-017 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 | CA-00058109-018 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 | CA-00058109-019 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 | CA-00058109-020 | 03/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 | CA-00058229-001 | 10/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 77 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 | CA-00058229-005 | 10/08/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 86 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 | CA-00058229-006 | 10/08/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 01/12/2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Aideen Collard
Procedure:
The Complainant referred these complaints to the Workplace Relations Commission (hereinafter ‘WRC’) on 3rd and 10th August 2023 under their respective referral provisions against a named Director of Dannan Air Limited and/or Dannan Air Limited. Following delegation to me by the Director, I inquired into these complaints and gave the Parties an opportunity to be heard and to present any relevant evidence. I heard these complaints by remote hearing on 1st December 2023 pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and S.I. 359/2020. The Complainant was self-represented and members of his family were in attendance. The Respondent/s were represented by Mr Jason Murray BL instructed by McCartan & Burke Solicitors and a Manager was in attendance to give evidence. The changes to hearing procedure provided by the Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 were outlined to the Parties. In line with same, the hearing was held in public and evidence was taken on oath. The Parties were made aware that their names would be published within this decision. The Complainant had to be warned about his conduct, language and demeanour at the hearing on a number of occasions. Following the hearing, a number of unsolicited communications were received from the Complainant.
Preliminary Objections raised on behalf of the named Respondent/s:
By way of preliminary objection on behalf of the named Respondent/s, it was contended that firstly, these complaints constitute an abuse of process in circumstances where they were submitted following a complaint by the named-Director against the Complainant to An Garda Síochána which is subject to an ongoing investigation. Secondly, it was submitted that the WRC does not have jurisdiction to hear these complaints in circumstances where the Complainant has never been in an employment relationship with the named Director and had not been in an employment relationship with Dannan Air Limited since 2013. A Manager on behalf of the Respondent/s gave evidence confirming that was this was the position.
Summary of Complainant’s Position on Preliminary Objections:
The Complainant and his brother gave evidence under oath asserting that the Complainant had a subsisting employment relationship and various agreements with the named Director of Dannan Air Limited. However, they did not give coherent evidence or submit any documentation supporting any prior or subsisting employment relationship. Neither was it possible to decipher the nature of the various complaints from the complaint forms which referred to a personal dispute arising from a prior association.
Findings and Conclusions:
For the purposes of the WRC’s jurisdiction to investigate these complaints, it is a statutory prerequisite that the Complainant had a prior or subsisting employment relationship with the named Respondent/s within the 1-2 year period (including any extension of time that might be granted) prior to referral depending upon the particular complaint. I have carefully considered the evidence adduced under oath on behalf of both Parties. In the absence of any cogent evidence on behalf of the Complainant, I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the Complainant has not had a prior or subsisting employment relationship with the named Respondent/s within the last two year period. I further note that the complaint forms appear to refer to a personal dispute arising from a prior association and do not distinguish between each complaint referred. This appears to be a box-ticking exercise in a bid to air the dispute before the WRC.
Decision:
Based upon the aforesaid, I find that there has been no employment relationship between the Complainant and the Respondent/s within the last two-year period. Accordingly, the WRC does not have jurisdiction to investigate these complaints and they are unfounded and/or dismissed in accordance with their provisions.
Dated: 02-02-2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Aideen Collard