ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00058311
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Alice Vella | Il Vicoletto |
Representatives | Did not attend the hearing. | Peninsula Business Services Ireland |
Complaints:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00070887-001 | 16/04/2025 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00070889-001 | 16/04/2025 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 22/10/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
Using the WRC’s e-complaint referral system, these complaints were submitted to the WRC at 7.20pm on April 16th 2025. In accordance with section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, they were assigned to me by the Director General. A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, October 22nd 2025 at 10.00am. At 8.20am on that day, the complainant, Ms Alice Vella, sent an email to the WRC and said, “I am sorry for the short notice, this morning I feel unwell and I can’t be there for the meeting. Is it possible to reschedule it?”
The hearing opened at 10.00am and the respondent, Il Vicoletto, was represented by Ms Annalee Brazel of Peninsula Business Services. In response to the complaints listed above, Ms Brazel sent a comprehensive submission to the WRC on October 14th. The owner of Il Vicoletto, Mr Christian Ignat, attended the hearing to respond to the complainant’s claims.
Significant administrative resources are required to facilitate complainants to have their complaints adjudicated upon, at a cost to the State. A hearing is not a “meeting,” as referred to by the complainant, but is a process concerned with the administration of justice. This process cannot be re-scheduled at short notice with a simple explanation that “I feel unwell.”
I note that a previous hearing scheduled for July 2nd 2025 was postponed at the request of the complainant because she was unavailable that day. As she failed to attend for a second time on October 22nd, and, as she has not provided a medical certificate to support her claim that she was too ill to attend, I have reached a conclusion on her complaints in her absence.
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
CA-00070887-001 and CA-00070889-001 In the circumstances where the complainant did not attend the hearing and, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary having been presented, I must conclude that these complaints are not well-founded and I decide accordingly. |
Dated: 28/10/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
The complainant did not attend the hearing. |