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Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> Industrial Tribunals Northern Ireland Decisions >> McSorley v Omagh District Volunteer Burea... [2011] NIIT 01041_11IT (31 October 2011)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NIIT/2011/01041_11IT.html
Cite as: [2011] NIIT 01041_11IT, [2011] NIIT 1041_11IT
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THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS
CASE REF: 1041/11
CLAIMANT: Pauline Ann McSorley
RESPONDENT: Omagh District Volunteer Bureau
DECISION
The claimant was made redundant by the respondent and I order the respondent to pay her the sum of £744.99 in respect of redundancy pay.
Constitution of Tribunal:
Chairman (sitting alone): Miss E McCaffrey
Appearances:
The claimant appeared in person and represented herself.
The respondent was represented by Mrs Theresa McGuigan (Manager) and Mrs Monica Coyle (Chair).
Facts and Issues
1. The claimant was employed by the respondent as a Shopmobility Co-Ordinator. She commenced employment on 22 September 2008 and her employment ended on 30 September 2010. She worked for 25 hours per week. Her gross pay was £248.33 per week and this was agreed by the respondent.
2. The claimant received a letter from the respondent indicating that she was being made redundant because of cuts in the funding for her employer. Mrs Coyle for the respondent confirmed that the correct name of the respondent was Omagh District Volunteer Bureau, a company limited by guarantee, and I ordered that the name of the respondent shall be amended accordingly.
3. The claimant wrote to the respondent in January 2011 indicating that she had been made redundant on 30 September 2010 and requesting her statutory redundancy payment. She received a reply dated 14 March 2011 indicating that the management committee had considered this matter and confirming that she was entitled to a statutory redundancy payment of three weeks pay. This is because although the claimant had worked for two full years, all of her years of service were over the age of 42 and so she was entitled to one and a half week’s pay for each year of service.
4. The letter also indicated however that as funding had ceased for the project in which the claimant was employed, the management committee was unable to pay her redundancy payment. The claimant then lodged a claim before the Industrial Tribunal.
Relevant Law
5. The relevant law in relation to this matter is found in Article 199 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 which reads as follows:-
“(1) An employee does not have any right to a redundancy payment unless, before the end of the period of six months beginning with the relevant date -
(a) the payment has been agreed and paid;
(b) the employee has made a claim for the payment by notice in writing given to the employer;
(c) a question as to the employee’s right to, or the amount of, the payment has been referred to the Industrial Tribunal; or
(d) a complaint regarding his dismissal has been presented by the employee under Article 145.
(2) An employee is not deprived of his right to redundancy payment by paragraph (1) if, during the period of six months immediately following the period mentioned in that paragraph, the employee:-
(a) makes a claim for payment by notice in writing given to the employer;
(b) refers to an Industrial Tribunal a question as to his right to, or the amount of, the payment; or
(c) presents a complaint regarding his dismissal under Article 145 and it appears to the Tribunal to be just and equitable that the employee should receive a redundancy payment.”
Decision
6. Taking account of the evidence which I heard from the claimant and from Mrs Coyle on behalf of the respondent company, together with the documents which were provided, I find that the claimant was made redundant by the respondent when funding for the project in which she was employed ceased. At the date of the hearing however, Omagh District Volunteer Bureau was still functioning and still solvent and therefore I order the respondent to pay to the claimant her redundancy payment which is made up as follows.
The claimant was aged 45 at the date of dismissal and had been employed by the respondent company for just over two years. Her gross pay was £248.33 per week.
Her redundancy pay is therefore calculated as follows:-
£248.33 x 2 x 1.5 = £744.99.
7. This is a relevant decision for the purposes of the Industrial Tribunals (Interest) Order (Northern Ireland) 1990.
Chairman:
Date and place of hearing: 31 August 2011, Omagh.
Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: