A previous night manager at the Village at Lyons in Co Kildare, Adorjan Gimesi failed to chase his constructive dismissal claim against his ex-employer due to surpassing the legal time frame for making a claim by two days. Mr Gimesi filed accusations of unjust termination from his position at the Lyons Estate property in Co Kildare, lodging a grievance under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 following his resignation in July 2023.
At a dialogue held by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Thursday, Barry O’Mahony, the barrister of the hotel, rejected Mr Gimesi’s claim on the grounds that it was submitted on January 30th of that year, thus pushing the termination date outside of the six month time window for a grievance claim under the WRC’s typical rules.
Mr O’Mahony presented a chain of emails indicating Mr Gimesi’s formal resignation on July 2nd and revealing his request for his pending periods of officially certified sick leave and vacation entitlements to be recognised as his notice. He also provided correspondence between Mr Gimesi and Joe Maguire, head of HR at the Cliff Group, wherein Mr Maguire encouraged Mr Gimesi to reconsider his decision but was rebuffed twice.
Assuming his position, Mr Gimesi communicated his resolution through email, expressing his disappointment with the management’s refusal to address his repeated pleas for assistance and his lack of desire to rejoin the hotel’s workforce. According to Mr O’Mahony, Mr Gimesi gave his uniform back to the hotel on July 20th and his sick leave certificates expired on the 28th of the same month, arguing that Mr Gimesi never intended to honour his notice period.
Mr Gimesi stated that, being a long-term manager, he was obligated to serve a month’s notice. He added that his dismissal date was not clearly outlined by his employer in writing, leading him to believe he was within his rights to air his grievances. In a statement made in court, the adjudicator, Conor Stokes, explained that current legal precedent indicates that if an employment contract stipulates a severance payment instead of notice – as was Mr Gimesi’s situation, as he pointed out – it’s deemed that the termination date is the day payment was issued.
Mr Stokes highlighted that the payout was seemingly made on 28th July 2023, with Mr Gimesi raising his complaint on 30th January 2024, making it six months and two days after the payment. The tribunal also considered another batch of statutory complaints lodged by Mr Gimesi in December 2023 under the Organisation of Working Time Act, where he claimed he was denied the proper breaks and holidays. A decision following an independent hearing earlier in the year is awaited.
Mr Stokes, addressing the complainant, remarked: “As you have successfully lodged a complaint with the WRC promptly in the past, I have to factor that in. Consequently, I reckon that this complaint is submitted too late. I aim to convey my decision by this evening on these grounds,” as he concluded the hearing.