The Complainant was employed as a Manager for the Respondent from the 15th of February 2021 to the 24th of May 2021 when he was dismissed due to alleged conflict with other employees. The Complainant had less than 12 months service and set out three grounds for his alleged unfair dismissal which included the fact that he did not have a van licence (although it was not a requirement of the role), taking of paternity leave and inability to stay late one evening. The Complainant further alleged he did not receive written terms of employment within two months of commencing employment in contravention of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994.

The Respondent disputed the evidence of the Complainant. She advised there was a personality clash with other employees and advised that key employees threatened to leave because of the Complainants management style. She advised that they had no choice but to remove the Complainant. The Respondent affirmed that the Complainant was on probation.

The Respondent accepted in evidence that they had not provided the Complainant with a written statement of his terms of employment and therefore they are in breach of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act.

The Adjudication Officer noted the relevant section of the Unfair Dismissals Act. Section 6.2 of the Unfair Dismissal Act states “Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the dismissal of an employee shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be an unfair dismissal if it results wholly or mainly from one or more of the following:

“the exercise or proposed exercise by the employee of the right under the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 to paternity leave or transferred paternity leave within the meaning of that Act,”

The Adjudication Officer noted that it was clear from the evidence that the Complainant, by virtue of not being provided with a written contract, rightfully and legally assumed he was a permanent employee from the start of his employment as there was no probation period specified in a contract of employment. The Adjudication Officer added that it was difficult to measure what contribution the Complainant’s request for paternity leave made to his dismissal. However, the Complainant was, in this particular case, entitled to the benefit of the doubt that the request for paternity leave did contribute to his dismissal since no letter of dismissal was provided by the Respondent stating the grounds for his dismissal.

The Adjudication Officer awarded the Complainant the sum of €2,560 euros in compensation for the Respondent’s breach of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act. The Adjudication Officer made a further award of compensation in the sum of €3,200 Euros for his unfair dismissal.

Guidance for Employers

Failure by an Employer to provide a written statement of the terms and conditions of the employment within two months of their start date can result in a negative inference being drawn in some circumstances.  It also worth noting in this case that whilst employees are subject to reaching at least one years’ continuous service before being entitled to protection under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, there are some exceptions, including the request for Parental Leave benefit. 
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2022/september/adj-00033788.html