ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00064741
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | David Cahill | Patrick Mortell & Gerard Mortell Farmgate |
Representatives | No Appearance by or on behalf of the Complainant | No Appearance by or on behalf of the Respondents |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00078442-001 | 09/12/2025 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 10/04/2026
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Patsy Doyle
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015, Section 12 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973 following 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.
Background:
On 26 November and 9 December 2025, the Complainant a Lay Litigant made claims for statutory redundancy and minimum notice on the unexpected termination of his 17-year employment. He later confirmed that the claim for statutory redundancy had been resolved in January 2026 but specifically requested that the remaining claim for notice would go to hearing. This hearing took place on April 10, 2026, at his request. Neither Party attended the hearing. Neither Party gave any reason for their respective failure to attend. Perhaps the Parties managed to resolve the issue prehearing.? I would have appreciated an update from either side.
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Summary of Complainant’s Case:
On 26 November and 9 December ,2025, the Complainant, a Lay Litigant submitted a two-issue complaint form to the WRC. He augmented the complaint form with the attached narrative. I was employed by Patrick and Gerard Mortell Trading as Farmgate, Charleville Co. Cork from January 28th, 2008, to 20th September 2025. I was informed on 21st September 2025 that the business was insolvent, and my employment was terminated with immediate effect.
Issues: I received no prior notice of the insolvency or termination. I did not receive my statutory notice period entitlement of 8 weeks. I have not received my statutory redundancy payment.
I have made several attempts to resolve this matter directly, including contacting the company’s accountant on multiple occasions, but no resolution has been provided. To put it bluntly, I have been given the run around which is so upsetting because of my loyalty to the business since 2008. I feel so badly treated and shocked by the entire episode.
I am seeking adjudication and your help on the following:
On 5 December 2025, the WRC requested additional clarity on the Respondent identity. The Complainant helpfully provided this. On 16 January 2026, the Complainant wrote the following narrative to the WRC. Dear WRC, I am writing to inform you that complaint CA-00078001-001 (Redundancy Complaint), submitted for adjudication to the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967, has been resolved as of today. However, complaint CA-00078442-001 (Minimum Notice Complaint), submitted under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act 1973, remains unresolved. … Could you please confirm that complaint CA-00078442-001, regarding the minimum notice period, remains open, as this matter has not yet been resolved? To summarise: CA-00078001-001 – Resolved CA-00078442-001 – Unresolved and still outstanding. On 11 March 2026, both Parties were invited to attend an in person hearing in the claim for Minimum Notice CA-00078442-001. On March 12, 2026, the Respondent Accountant came off record and provided a contact number for the Respondents named in the case. The Post Registration Unit contacted the Respondents and contact details were formalised. On 24 March 2026, I wrote to the complainant seeking any documentation which might link him to the respondent to assist in my investigation.
I am the Adjudicator assigned to hear your case on April 10, 2026, next at 10 am in WRC Cork Offices.
I would be grateful if you could prioritise your completed submission in this case please complete with a contract of employment and any recent pay slips in your possession, please. At present, I do not have any documentation which links you to this employment. I would be grateful if you could include any documentation relating to your recent redundancy please.
Once received, it will be shared with the respondent from whom a submission is equally awaited.
I look forward to meeting the parties at hearing.
On that same day, I wrote to the Respondent.
I am the Adjudicator assigned to hear the above case on April 10, 2026, next at 10 am in WRC Cork Offices.
I would be grateful if you could prioritise your completed submission in this case please complete with a contract of employment and any recent pay slips in your possession, please. I would be grateful if you could include any documentation relating to a recent redundancy please.
Once received, it will be shared with the complainant from whom a submission is equally awaited.
I look forward to meeting the parties at hearing.
Further to out telephone I note your consent to future correspondence been issued from the WRC by electronic means.
Your email address has been added to the file, and all further correspondence will now be emailed to you. Could you please provide me with a new postal address so I can update the file.
Nothing followed from either Party.
I proceeded to hearing on April 10, 2026, at 10 am.
Neither of the Parties attended. Neither of the Parties offered any explanation for their absence.
I extended the start time to 10. 15 am to accommodate any late arrival.
I concluded the hearing in the absence of both parties.
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Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent has not engaged with this claim and has not filed a defence. The Respondent did not appear at hearing. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I have been requested to reach a decision on a claim for Minimum Notice of 8 weeks, set against a completed redundancy.
The Complainant has deprived me of any opportunity to take evidence in the case by his nonappearance at hearing.
The Law on Minimum Notice is where my jurisdiction arises in this case.
Minimum period of notice.
4.— (1) An employer shall, in order to terminate the contract of employment of an employee who has been in his continuous service for a period of thirteen weeks or more, give to that employee a minimum period of notice calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.
(2) The minimum notice to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of his employee shall be—
(a) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for less than two years, one week,
(b) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for two years or more, but less than five years, two weeks,
(c) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for five years or more, but less than ten years, four weeks,
(d) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for ten years or more, but less than fifteen years, six weeks,
(e) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for fifteen years or more, eight weeks.
Decision of adjudication officer under section 41 of Workplace Relations Act 2015
- (1) A decision of an adjudication officer under section 41of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 in relation to a complaint of a contravention of section 4(2) or 5 may, where the adjudication officer finds that that section was contravened by the employer in relation to the employee who presented the complaint, include a direction that the employer concerned pay to the employee compensation for any loss sustained by the employee by reason of the contravention.
The Respondent has not engaged in the claim, filed a defence, or appeared at hearing.
I am surprised, given the precision adopted in the complainants earlier contact with the WRC, that he did not update the commission prior to hearing. I find his nonappearance at a dedicated hearing in this matter to be unreasonable.
I also deemed the respondent to be unreasonable and disrespectful to a statutory body such as the WRC.
I would have appreciated a short email which explained any development in the case from either party.
Given that the complainant did not attend the hearing to open evidence in the case, I cannot take the matter further.
I find the claim for minimum notice to be not well founded.
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act. Section 12 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973 requires that I make a decision in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of that Act. I have found the claim is not well founded. I have been deprived of an opportunity to hear evidence in the case by the nonappearance of the complainant in his own claim. |
Dated: 17/04/2026
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Patsy Doyle
Key Words:
Minimum Notice during Redundancy |