ADJUDICATION OFFICER Recommendation on dispute under Industrial Relations Act 1969

Investigation Recommendation Reference: IR - SC - 00004368

	Worker	Employer
Anonymised Parties	*A Worker*	*An Employer*

Representatives

The Worker did not attend and was not represented at hearing.

The Employer did not attend and was not represented at hearing.

Disputes:

Act	Dispute Reference No.	Date of Receipt
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	IR - SC - 00004368	30/09/2019
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969	IR - SC - 00004369	30/09/2019

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eileen Campbell

Date of Hearing: 16/05/2025

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 (as amended) following the referral of the disputes to me by the Director General, I inquired into the disputes and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any information relevant to the dispute. The hearing was scheduled as an in person hearing to take place in Lansdowne House.

As this is a trade dispute under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 the parties are not named. They are referred to as “the Worker” and “the Employer”. Section 13(9)(c) of the Act provides that hearings shall be heard in private and accordingly, I direct that any information that might identify the parties within this recommendation should not be published.

Having waited a reasonable period of time, there was no appearance by or on behalf of the Worker or the Employer at the hearing on 16/05/2025. I am satisfied that the Worker and the Employer were duly notified of the details of the hearing. Neither party attended. A postponement had not been sought.

Background:

This matter came before the WRC dated 30/09/2019 as a complaint seeking adjudication by the WRC under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969.

The aforesaid disputes were referred to me for investigation. A hearing for that purpose was scheduled to take place on 16/05/2025.

Summary of Worker’s Case:

There was no appearance by or on behalf of the Worker at the hearing.

Summary of Employer’s Case:

There was no appearance by or on behalf of the Employer at the hearing.

Conclusions:

I am satisfied that the Worker was notified of the hearing in line with WRC procedures. Such notification set out the date, time, and place at which the hearing to investigate the complaint would be held.

No communication has been received from the Worker in the interim indicating any difficulty attending at the hearing, seeking a postponement, or withdrawing this claim.

The Worker has offered no explanation for her absence.

I note and I am guided by the Labour Court in HSE v. A Worker LCR 22637. In this case a Worker failed to attend a hearing held under Section 20(1) of the IR Act. The Court considered the implications of the non-attendance by the Worker at hearing and held as follows:

“In circumstances, where the Worker and her representative failed to attend the hearing, the complaint fails due to her failure to pursue her claim. The Court recommends that the issue be regarded as closed.”

As the Worker did not attend the hearing as scheduled I cannot bring my investigation any further. The claim has fallen as the Worker did not attend the hearing to pursue her claim.

Accordingly, I conclude this matter is now closed.

Recommendation:

Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.

As the Worker did not attend the hearing as scheduled I recommend that the matter is now considered closed and no further action is taken in circumstances where the Worker did not attend to pursue her claim.

Dated: 27-05-25

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eileen Campbell

Key Words:

Non-attendance by both parties;