ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00057598
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Andrew Dollard | Walter Young t/a Young's Restaurant |
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | {text} | {text} |
Representatives | Self - Represented | Gorham Hughes Ltd. |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 | CA-00070078-001 | 19/03/2025 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 17/09/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Valerie Murtagh
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Actsfollowing the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint. The hearing was heard remotely, pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2020 and S.I. 359/2020, which designated the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. Parties were sworn in at the commencement of the hearing.
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant states that he worked with the Respondent restaurant for 19 years. He states that in late October 2024, he received a letter stating that the company was closing down. The Complainant states that the Respondent informed him in early November 2024 that the business did not have the money to pay him or the other employee their redundancy entitlements. At the hearing, the Complainant confirmed that he received a redundancy payment from the Department of Social Protection on 30 April 2025. The Complainant disputes the assertion of the Respondent that the business did not have the funds to pay the employees their appropriate redundancy payment entitlements. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent states that the Restaurant closed down due to a downturn in business and consequently it became no longer financially viable to keep the doors open. The Respondent states that it applied to the social fund in the Department of Social Protection for redundancies to be paid to the Complainant and another employee and after various checks and verification that the Respondent was not in a position to pay, both the Complainant and the other employee received the full statutory redundancy due to them. The Respondent submitted documentation which showed that the Complainant and the other employee received the redundancy payments in April 2025. The Respondent states that in those circumstances, there is no basis to the Complainant’s within claim. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I have reviewed the evidence provided in the within matter. I note from the documentation provided at hearing that the Complainant received his statutory redundancy from the social fund administered by the Department of Social Protection in April 2025. In the circumstances, I find that the within complaint is not well-founded. |
Decision:
Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2012 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.
I find that the within complaint is not well-founded. |
Dated: 24th September 2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Valerie Murtagh
Key Words:
Redundancy Payments Acts |