Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions

 
THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS

CASE REF: 269/05

349/05

CLAIMANTS: Eugene Anthony Beggan

Patrick Monaghan

RESPONDENT: McAloon Construction Limited

DECISION

The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that the claimants' claims for holiday pay are dismissed.

Appearances:

The claimants were unrepresented and did not attend.

The respondent was represented by Mrs Nuala White, director of respondent company.

Issue to be determined by the tribunal.

Were the claimants contractually entitled to holiday pay for the Christmas period in 2004?

The tribunal considered, in the absence of the claimants, the originating applications, the respondent's notices of appearance, documentation furnished by the respondent and the oral evidence of Mrs White.

Findings of Fact

1. The claimants were employed by the respondent company until the 1^st October 2004.
2. The respondent's annual leave year runs from 1^st January until 31^st December and the claimants were contractually entitled to take 29 days paid leave per annum to be taken in accordance with dates fixed by the Construction Employers' Federation of Northern Ireland.
3. Employees are not entitled to take annual leave until they had 13 continuous weeks' service and leave entitlement has to be earned on a monthly basis pro rata.
4. Both claimants had taken nineteen paid leave days as at 1^st October 2004 when their respective contracts of employment with the respondent terminated.

On the basis of these facts the tribunal determines:-

5. The claimants ceased to accrue entitlement to paid annual leave after 1^st October 2004 as they were no longer employed by the Respondent. Therefore the tribunal determines that the claimants are not entitled to receive holiday pay for the Christmas 2004 period.
6. The Tribunal did not have jurisdiction to decide whether the claimants were entitled to payment for any annual leave entitlement outstanding as at 1^st October 2004 as the claims were not presented within 3 months of that date and the tribunal did not have any evidence before it to consider whether it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented within that period.

Accordingly the claimants' claims are dismissed.

Chairman:

Date and place of hearing: 23 August 2005, Enniskillen.

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: