Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Kevin  Dalton

United Parcel Service Ireland Ltd

Representatives

  In person

 IBEC

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967

CA-00058813-001

12/09/2023

The complainant was employed by the respondent as a Team Leader from 4th October 2016 until his resignation on 27th September 2023. The complaint was submitted to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on 12th September 2023 and relates to the complainant’s redundancy entitlements.

The complainant is seeking his redundancy entitlements in circumstances where he contends his role within the organisation ceased by reason of redundancy. The complainant applied for voluntary redundancy, albeit outside of the timeline for applications. The complainant contends that by not accepting his application for voluntary redundancy, he should have been made redundant when his role in the organisation ceased to exist and where he was denied other opportunities within the organisation.

The respondent stated that it began a process of restructuring in 2023 which led to a voluntary redundancy process with applications commencing on 4th April 2023. The respondent’s position was that the complainant did not apply within the timeframe for applications and by the time the application process concluded the required number of applications had been received. The respondent’s position is that the complainant subsequently resigned on 27th September 2023 when the appeal of his redundancy application was not upheld, and he was not willing to accept the other available roles in the organisation.

The issue relates to the complainant’s perceived redundancy entitlements.

The Applicable Law

Section 7(1) and (2) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 provides as follows:

7(1) An employee, if he is dismissed by his employer by reason of redundancy or is laid off or kept on short-time for the minimum period, shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to the payment of moneys which shall be known (and are in this Act referred to) as redundancy payment provided—

(a) he has been employed for the requisite period, and

(b) he was an employed contributor in employment which was insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966, immediately before the date of the termination of his employment, or had ceased to be ordinarily employed in employment which was so insurable in the period of four years ending on that date.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if for one or more reasons not related to the employee concerned the dismissal is attributable wholly or mainly to—

(a) the fact that his employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him, or has ceased or intends to cease, to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed, or

(b) the fact that the requirements of that business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where he was so employed have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish, or

(c) the fact that his employer has decided to carry on the business with fewer or no employees, whether by requiring the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) to be done by other employees or otherwise, or

(d) the fact that his employer has decided that the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) should henceforward be done in a different manner for which the employee is not sufficiently qualified or trained, or

(e) the fact that his employer has decided that the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) should henceforward be done by a person who is also capable of doing other work for which the employee is not sufficiently qualified or trained,

Conclusions

The respondent commenced a voluntary redundancy process on 6th April 2023 and all applications were to be received by 12th April 2023. The complainant did not apply by the deadline and his application was refused. The respondent stated that, as it had received the required number of applications within the timeframe, the complainant’s application was not accepted.

The complainant was offered alternative roles within the organisation but did not accept the alternative options and resigned with effect from 27th September 2023.

I note that the redundancy process was voluntary in nature. There was no obligation on the complainant to apply and no obligation on the respondent to accept the applications received. The complainant’s application was received outside of the timeframe for applications and by that time, the required level of applications had been received.

In all the circumstances of the complaint, I find that the complainant’s employment ended by reason of his resignation and not by reason of redundancy. Accordingly, the complaint fails.

Having considered the matter, I find that the complaint’s employment did not end by reason of redundancy. The complainant resigned when he chose not to accept the alternative roles offered to him in the organisation. Accordingly, the complaint is not well founded.

Voluntary redundancy, resignation