Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Laszlo  Poos

Vegan & Vegetarian Company Limited t/a Quay Coop

Representatives

Self-Represented

John Calnan, Company Director.

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967

CA-00078647-001

15/12/2025

It is common case that the Complainant’s contract when his position was made redundant on 20 May 2025. The Complainant commenced work on 6 May 2014 and his wages on finishing up for a 37.5-hour week was €576.75 gross: net €544.53.

The Complainant gave evidence of his stated salary and that and he was in continuous socially insured employment from 6 May 2014 to the date of redundancy of 20 May 2025.

Mr John Calnan, Director of the Respondent company verified that the  case was uncontested in that the Respondent accepted that the Complainant was made redundant and was entitled to redundancy payment in line with the Redundancy Payments Act 1967, as amended (“the Act”). The witness stated that the company presently had not the funds to pay the Complainant the redundancy sum.

The entitlement to a redundancy payment is set out in Section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 which states as follows:

7(1) An employee, if he is dismissed by his employer by reason of redundancy or is laid off or kept on short-time for the minimum period, shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to the payment of moneys which shall be known (and are in this Act referred to) as redundancy payment provided—

(a) he has been employed for the requisite period, and

(b) he was an employed contributor in employment which was insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966, immediately before the date of the termination of his employment or had ceased to be ordinarily employed in employment which was so insurable in the period of four years ending on that date.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an employee who is dismissed shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy if for one or more reasons not related to the employee concerned the dismissal is attributable wholly or mainly to—

(a) the fact that his employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by him, or has ceased or intends to cease, to carry on that business in the place where the employee was so employed, or

(b) the fact that the requirements of that business for employees to carry out work of a particular kind in the place where he was so employed have ceased or diminished or are expected to cease or diminish, or

(c) the fact that his employer has decided to carry on the business with fewer or no employees, whether by requiring the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) to be done by other employees or otherwise, or

(d) the fact that his employer has decided that the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) should henceforward be done in a different manner for which the employee is not sufficiently qualified or trained, or

(e) the fact that his employer has decided that the work for which the employee had been employed (or had been doing before his dismissal) should henceforward be done by a person who is also capable of doing other work for which the employee is not sufficiently qualified or trained,

Based on the uncontested evidence of the Complainant I find he was made redundant under Section 7 (2)(a). I allow the Complainants appeal and I award him statutory redundancy on the following basis Section 4(1) of the 1967  Act states “Subject to this section and to section 47 this Act shall apply to employees employed in employment which is insurable for all benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966 and to employees who were so employed in such employment in the period of two years ending on the date of termination of employment.”

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 allow the Complainant’s appeal and, subject to the Complainant being in employment which was insurable for this purpose under the Social Welfare Acts, he is entitled to a redundancy payment of two weeks per year (or part thereof) plus a week on the following basis.

Date of Commencement: 6 May 2014

Date of Reckonable Service for Redundancy Payment Ceasing on: 20 May 2025

Gross Weekly Wage: €576.75

Redundancy Payments Act 1967.