Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Maria Lynch

Kildare Car Outlet t/a N Conlan and Sons  

Representatives

N/A

N/A

Act

Complaint/Dispute 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-00071007-002

22/04/2025

The Complainant worked as a Human Resources & Accounts Administrator for the Respondent from 17 February 2025 until 22 April 2025. The Complainant worked 24 and 16 hours on alternate weeks. She earned approximately €18 (gross) per hour (amounting to €432 (gross) for a 24-hour week).

The Complainant submits that she did not receive a statement in writing on her terms of employment, in breach of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. The Respondent denies the allegations in full. The Respondent submits that the Complainant was responsible for drafting her own contract of employment, which she failed to do.

The Complainant provided written and oral submissions.

Complainant – Oral Evidence:

The Complainant outlined that she was hired as the Respondent’s HR & Accounts Administrator on a part-time basis in February 2025. The Complainant outlined that she administered the weekly payroll, handled the onboarding of new employees and dealt with any HR issues which arose.

The Complainant stated that when she onboarded employees, their Line Manager(s) told her what to put into their contracts of employment regarding salary, annual leave and probation terms. She also set those new employees up on payroll, using their bank details.

The Complainant stated that she did not receive a contract of employment and / or any other documentation such as a Staff Handbook for herself. She said that she was not referred to any of the Respondent’s policies. She said that she did not refer employees to the Staff Handbook. She further stated that she did not know who her Line Manager was.

The Complainant stated that “due to the lack of clarity”, she did not feel comfortable issuing a contract of employment for herself. She stated that about one month into her role, she asked to speak to someone about her role. The Complainant said that Ms. Gilligan told her that the Complainant could email the (outgoing) General Manager. The Complainant said that in her email to the (outgoing) General Manager, she outlined that she wanted to talk about her “role, responsibilities and salary”. She cannot say for sure if she mentioned her contract of employment. The Complaint received no response. She said that she then spoke to Ms. Gilligan who said that she did not know what was happening with her contract and that was it.

Cross-Examination:

The Complainant disagreed that Ms. Gilligan approached her about her contract of employment.

The Complainant accepted that Ms. Gilligan told her that Mr. Raymond Conlan, the Business Owner, had not agreed to a rise.

The Complainant denied that Ms. Gilligan told her that Mr. Raymond Conlan had not agreed to a rise while the Complainant was on probation.

The Complainant stated that she did not recall the Organisational Chart, created on 21 February 2025 and saved to her own work folder. She also stated that she did not recall whether she drew it up or not.

The Complainant denied that Lisa, her predecessor, had told her about the file location of the Staff Handbook.

The Complainant denied that she knew that a probation period applied to all employees. She said that she did not know everyone’s terms and conditions of employment.

The Respondent provided written and oral submissions.

Ms. Gill Gilligan – Oral Evidence:

Ms. Gilligan outlined that she is the Respondent’s Accounts Manager. She said that the Respondent’s business split in February 2025 and the Complainant was hired to look after the HR matters for one side of the business, while her predecessor, Lisa, was tasked with looking after the HR matters for the other side of the business.

Ms. Gilligan outlined that Lisa, the Complainant’s predecessor, came to the office and onboarded the Complainant. She said that Lisa sat with the Complainant and that Lisa also made herself available by phone to the Complainant, to address her queries.

Ms. Gilligan outlined that in the second week of her employment, the Complainant indicated that she was no longer available for 24 hours per week and sought to reduce her hours to 16 hours per week.

Ms. Gilligan outlined that she raised the issue of the Complainant’s contract of employment with the Complainant. Ms. Gilligan said that she wanted to make sure that “all boxes were ticked”. Ms. Gilligan stated that the Complainant responded that she wanted to discuss her contract of employment with someone as she wanted a pay rise. Ms. Gilligan stated that the Complainant then emailed the (outgoing) General Manager. Ms. Gilligan said that when the (outgoing) General Manager did not respond, she spoke to Mr. Raymond Conlan, the Business Owner, who refused a pay rise as the Complainant was still on probation. She said that it was all addressed very quickly and within a timeframe of four weeks.

Ms. Gilligan further stated that the staff contracts of employment were all located on the Respondent’s H:drive and that only she and the Complainant had access to them. She stated that the Complainant was required to issue a contract of employment for herself.

Cross-Examination:

Ms. Gilligan stated that the Complainant was told during her interview that she would report to Ms. Gilligan.

Ms. Gilligan stated that she said to the Complainant that she would talk to the (outgoing) General Manager or Mr. Raymond Conlan about her pay rise request. Ms. Gilligan stated that the Complainant stated in response, that she wanted to talk to the (outgoing) General Manager herself.

Ms. Gilligan denied that the Complainant chased up on her contract of employment. Ms. Gilligan stated that that she had raised matter with the Complainant who said that she could not issue her own contract of employment until she knew what her pay and role would be.

The Law:

Pursuant to section 3 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, as amended (the “TEIA”), an employer shall “give or cause to be given”, to the employee, a statement in writing containing specific particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment. This statement in writing must be given to the employee within one month of the commencement of employment.

Findings and Conclusions:

It was common case that the Complainant was hired as the Respondent’s HR & Accounts Administrator and that she was responsible for the onboarding of employees, which included drawing up their contracts of employment and setting them up on payroll. It was also common case that the Complainant went through an onboarding procedure insofar as her predecessor sat with her and took her calls on a number of occasions, to address her queries.

I am satisfied on the evidence before me, that the Complainant knew that her Line Manager was Ms. Gilligan. This is borne out by Ms. Gilligan’s evidence which is corroborated by the details in the Organisational Chart created on 21 February 2025 (approximately four days after the Complainant’s employment commenced) and which was located in the Complainant’s work folder. I note that it was common case that the Complainant’s pay rise was refused and so her pay was known to her at the outset of her employment. As the Complainant’s Line Manager and pay were known to her from the outset of her employment, it is not clear to me why the Complainant could not draft her own contract of employment, as per her own contractual obligations.

It was a matter for the Complainant to draw up her own contract of employment and she failed to do so. The Complainant cannot seek relief against the Respondent, arising from her own failure to carry out her own duties in compliance with her contractual obligations. In the circumstances, I find that this complaint is not well founded.

For the reasons outlined above, I find that this complaint is not well founded.

Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994.