WRC rejects childcare worker’s redundancy and notice complaints

The Workplace Relations Commission rejected Gemma Butler’s claims for redundancy and minimum notice payments against Kells Resource Centre Ltd, finding that she had resigned. The decision was dated 9 January 2023. The officer also found the minimum notice complaint was outside the time limit; the merits were not decided on that complaint. Butler, a child-care worker at a Leinster creche, said she had not resigned and was owed both payments. The respondent said she chose not to return after maternity leave. The officer found that her WhatsApp messages and her failure to return when the creche reopened supported the conclusion that she had ended her employment. The officer said no case for redundancy had been made out and the redundancy complaint failed. The minimum notice complaint was also found not made out and technically out of time.