ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00058624
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Alan Browne | Bidvest Noonan (ROI) Limited |
Representatives | The Complainant did not attend and was not represented at hearing. | Self-Represented |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 | CA-00071150-001 | 29/04/2025 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 07/05/2026
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eileen Campbell
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and/or Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 2015, 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. The hearing was conducted in person in Lansdowne House.
While the parties are named in the Decision, I will refer to Mr Alan Browne as “the Complainant” and to Bidvest Noonan (ROI) Limited as “the Respondent”.
The Complainant did not attend and was not represented at the hearing. Ms Jean Cogavin ER Advisor was in attendance on behalf of the Respondent.
Having waited a reasonable period of time there was no appearance by or on behalf of the Complainant at hearing on 07/05/2026. I am satisfied that the Complainant was duly notified of the details of the hearing on 11/03/2026 in line with WRC procedures. A postponement had not been sought.
Background:
This matter came before the Workplace Relations Commission dated 29/04/2025 as a complaint submitted pursuant to section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977. The aforesaid complaint was referred to me for investigation. A hearing for that purpose was scheduled to take place on 07/05/2026.
Having waited a reasonable period of the time on the day, there was no appearance by or on behalf of the Complainant. I am satisfied the Complainant was duly notified of the details of the hearing. The Complainant did not attend. A postponement had not been sought.
The Complainant has not availed himself of the considerable resources put at his disposal by the Workplace Relations Commission.
Furthermore, the Complainant’s non-appearance at hearing represents a level of discourtesy to the Commission that is unacceptable and which has put the Respondent to avoidable expense and to the inconvenience of attending at hearing unnecessarily.
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Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00071150-001 There was no appearance by or on behalf of the Complainant at the adjudication hearing. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
CA-00071150-001 The Respondent attended the hearing. In circumstances where the Complainant did not attend there was no requirement for evidence to be presented by the Respondent. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00071150-001 There was no appearance by the Complainant at the adjudication hearing. I am satisfied the Complainant was notified in writing of the date, time and place at which the hearing to investigate the complaint would be held. There was no application for a postponement submitted in the weeks or days preceding the hearing. As of the date of this decision there has been no further communication received from or on behalf of the Complainant. In these circumstances and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaint is not well-founded and I decide accordingly. |
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 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 – 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the unfair dismissal claim consisting of a grant of redress in accordance with section 7 of the 1977 Act.
CA-00071150-001 For the reasons set out above, I decide this complaint is not well-founded. |
Dated: 20-05-2026
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eileen Campbell
Key Words:
Complainant did not attend; |