THE INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALS 

CASE REF: 7041/09	

CLAIMANT:                  Anthony Cusack     		

RESPONDENT:           Frank Traynor	

DECISION

The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that the claimant is entitled to a Redundancy Payment of £1130 and Notice Pay of £904.

Constitution of Tribunal:

Chairman (sitting alone): Mrs Watson	

Appearances:

The claimant appeared in person

The respondent appeared and was represented by Mr Martin, a lay representative.

1.	Issue for Determination

Is the claimant entitled to a redundancy payment and notice payment following the termination of his employment by the respondent and, if so, how much?

2.	Findings of Fact

The tribunal heard oral evidence from the claimant who was then cross examined by Mr Martin on behalf of the respondent. The fact of the claimant’s entitlement to the redundancy was not in dispute but the respondent disagreed with the claimant’s evidence in respect of his wages at the date of termination. Mr Martin produced a document from the respondent’s accountant which showed that the claimant was earning £226 per week. The claimant’s evidence was that the respondent had promised to make up for a period when the claimant had agreed to work for reduced wages but in the absence of any corroborating evidence, the tribunal relied on figures from the accounts.

The tribunal find that the claimant worked for the respondent as a plaster boarder from January 2004 until the date of termination, 7 August 2009, a period of 5 years. The claimant is aged 30 years and was paid £226 per week. The respondent had informed the claimant the previous week that his employment was to be terminated but no notice payment was paid.

3.	The Relevant Law

The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (as amended), sets out the law relating to dismissals, including redundancy dismissals.  Article 174(1) (b) of the Order states that, where the requirements of the business for the employee to carry out work of a particular kind have ceased or diminished, then the employee is to be taken as dismissed by reason of redundancy.  Article 174 goes on to say, at (3), that a tribunal may determine that an employer is liable to make an appropriate payment to an employee where it appears to the tribunal that it is just and equitable to do so.

Article 197 of the Order provides that the appropriate payment is related to the claimant’s age and length of service, and is based on the employee’s weekly wage up to a cap of £350 per week. In this case, the claimant had 5 years service when he was aged over 21 years.  Article 118 of the 1996 Order provides that an employee is entitled to one week’s notice pay for each year of employment.

Applying the law to the facts found, the tribunal find that the claimant’s entitlement is as follows;

Redundancy Pay        5 x 1 x £226  =  £1130.00

Notice Pay                        4 x £226  =  £  904.00
                                       
                                      TOTAL        =  £2034.00

4.	Interest

This is a relevant decision for the purposes of the Industrial Tribunals (Interest) Order 1996.

Chairman:

Date and place of hearing: 30 November 2009, Belfast

Date decision recorded in register and issued to parties: