The Labour Court affirmed the rejection of Julie Neville’s three complaints against the HSE, finding that no transfer of undertakings took place. Its determination was dated 9 February 2018.
Neville, an employee of Matrix Resources Limited, appealed decisions on her claims under temporary agency worker law, unfair dismissal legislation and transfer of undertakings regulations. Matrix supplied agency workers to the HSE. Neville argued that the HSE’s recruitment of workers directly in 2015 amounted to a transfer and that she should have been included. The HSE said she managed Matrix’s business and had never worked for, or been assigned to, the HSE.
The Court found the HSE’s letter to Matrix notified it of reduced demand for agency staff. It also found that notices of vacancies to agency workers met the HSE’s legal duty. Neville was not an agency worker assigned to the HSE, and the Court found she had no standing to bring an unfair dismissal complaint against it. The Court found the transfer complaint misconceived and dismissed it; the agency workers and unfair dismissal complaints were not well founded. It affirmed the lower decisions.