Work place relations commission

LegacyUser

Hi guys.

I had a meeting a while back here in Dublin with the WRC.

The adjudicating officer found in my favour and made an award.

My question is how do i collect?

wmpdd3

First the other side has to pay, write to the commission asking for an update, include your case number.

LegacyUser

wmpdd3 wrote: »

First the other side has to pay, write to the commission asking for an update, include your case number.

Thank you for your reply.

Who do the otherside pay?

Do i have to was a number of weeks to seek payment or can i do it straight away?

Totally unfamiliar with the system.

davo10

wmpdd3 wrote: »

First the other side has to pay, write to the commission asking for an update, include your case number.

Are you sure about this?

The Labour Court/WRC is not a court of law and though businesses are encouraged to comply with its findings, they are non binding. If business refuses, the op may have to go to district court for enforcement.


http://www.lrc.ie/en/WR_Bodies/Labour_Court/Labour_Court.html

wmpdd3

Yes that's right, the other side can basically just not pay even though they found in your favour. Then it's up to the plaintiff to go chase the award using the district court.

LegacyUser

Hi OP,

They might not have to pay - or they might. It depends on the type of case or hearing, and you haven't said what that was.

If a WRC Adjudication Officer found in your favour on an issue relating to a piece of employment rights legislation, then that finding is legally binding and enforceable in law, or else decisions can be appealed to the Labour Court. When it comes to employment rights law, the Labour Court is a court of law, and its decisions can (usually) only be appealed to the High Court on a point of law.

Examples include the Unfair Dismissals Act, the Organisation of Working Time Act, the Payment of Wages Act, as well as legislation to protect workers from discrimination on equality grounds (e.g. age, race, gender, pregnancy) and other Acts that protect the rights of fixed-term workers and part-time workers.

As wmpdd3 says you might have to use a court to enforce your award, but if you get a court order that would mean the employer will also have to pay any legal costs involved.

On the other hand, if you bring a case to the WRC under one of the IR Acts, then decisions are not legally binding. Normally, cases under the IR Acts are not heard by an adjudicator - they are referred to a conciliation officer. There is one group of cases that are heard by an adjudicator, under Section 13 (2) of the 1969 Industrial Relations Act. If an adjudicator issues a decision under that section it is non-binding (although there is a legal device people can sometimes use to get around that).

Hope this is helpful. Without knowing which piece of legislation your hearing was taken under it is difficult to give you anything clearer.