ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference:  ADJ-00054472

Parties:

Complaint:

Date of Adjudication Hearing:  01/05/2025

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Aideen Collard

Procedure:

This complaint was referred under Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 to the Workplace Relations Commission (hereinafter ‘WRC’) on 28th September 2024.  Following delegation to me by the Director General, I inquired into this complaint and gave the Parties an opportunity to be heard and to present any relevant evidence.  When this complaint was first listed for hearing at Lansdowne House on 31st January 2025, the Complainant was in attendance.  As I could not be satisfied that the Respondent had been properly served with the hearing notice, this complaint was rescheduled for hearing at Lansdowne House on 1st May 2025 with a Pashto interpreter.  On that date, the interpreter was in attendance but there was no attendance at the hearing by or on behalf of either Party.  Solicitors had come on record for the Respondent but subsequently came off record.  I was satisfied that the Complainant had been properly notified of the hearing date by letter dated 6th March 2025.  I remained in the room for the hearing duration.  I confirmed that there had been no application for a postponement and no issue with attendance had been communicated to the WRC.  Out of an abundance of caution in circumstances where the Complainant is self-represented and English is not his first language, WRC Administration attempted to ring him on his phone number provided but there was no answer.  He was also emailed at both email addresses provided and written to at the postal address provided with an invitation to request a new hearing date.  However, there was no response within the periods granted.  In circumstances where the Complainant has not made contact with the WRC to date, I have proceeded to issue my decision.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

There was no attendance by or on behalf of the Complainant to pursue this complaint

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

There was no engagement by the Respondent or attendance at the hearing by or on its behalf.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to this complaint in accordance with the requisite statutory provisions.  Parties are required to attend the hearing of their complaint/s before the WRC to pursue/rebut same.  I find the Complainant’s non-attendance at this hearing to pursue his complaint without any explanation to be unreasonable and constitutes an abandonment of same.  Accordingly, I find this complaint not to be well-founded.

Dated:   18-07-2025

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:  Aideen Collard