Worker

Employer

Anonymised Parties

A Worker

A Company

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 - 00004796

25/07/2025

The worker is employed as a Marketing Executive and earns €476.89 per week. During his employment, he made several complaints regarding his treatment by another employee in the company. As his complaints were not dealt with by the company, he referred the dispute to the Workplace Relations Commission.

The worker provided a contract of employment and payslips to demonstrate he was an employee of the company. The worker provided emails of 7th & 11th March 2025 & 28th May 2025 from a work email address which showed that he raised his treatment directly with the other employee. The Company Director was copied on the emails. He said even though these were serious allegations of bullying that the Company Director took no steps to investigate or enquire into the matters.

On 26th January 2026, the morning of the first scheduled hearing, the Company Director emailed the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) stating that no employment relationship existed between the worker and the company. He also stated that he could not attend the WRC as it was the busiest week of the year.

The case was rescheduled for hearing on 25th March 2026. On 24th March 2026, the Company Director emailed the WRC stating that ‘I as a director of the company dispute all the matters that have been set out in this complaint as being entirely baseless and factually incorrect. Please note however that I will not be attending the hearing on behalf of the Respondent.’

In conducting my investigation, I have taken into account all relevant submissions presented by the parties. I am satisfied from the documentation submitted by the worker that he is an employee of the company.

As there are no specific statutory provisions on bullying, the guidance is provided in the ‘Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work’ (the Code). If the company have an Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy (Policy) in place, this is also relevant.

Based on the definition of bullying in the Code and the nature of the complaints made by the worker, I am satisfied that they fall under the Code of Practice. As the employer did not attend the hearing, it was not established whether a company policy exists, and/or whether staff are trained to handle complaints.

The Code describes the role of the Adjudication Services on page 25-

‘The provision of Adjudication services under Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 following the exhaustion of internal procedures (note: the grounds of referral to an Adjudication Officer are around the conduct of an investigation in terms of fairness and adherence to fair process and procedures).’

Conduct of Investigation

Although the worker raised several complaints about his treatment in the workplace by another employee, the employer made no attempt to investigate the complaints as set out in the Code.

Conclusion

As the employer did not handle the complaints in accordance with the Code of Practice, I decide that there is merit in the worker’s dispute.

 I recommend that the employer pay compensation of €4,000.00 to the worker within 42 days. For clarity, this payment is compensation and is not related to earnings. I also recommend that the employer investigates the complaints, in accordance with the Code of Practice.

Bullying and harassment complaint