An artificial intelligence company specialising in testing health and skincare products on imitation human skin has been mandated to pay in excess of €3,000 to a previous employee. The individual claimed that she had been informed that she would not be given her due payment because the enterprise was cash-strapped.
Tracey Ryan, an individual who lodged a complaint with the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), was working as a devoted scientific skincare counsellor for Rinocloud Ltd from November 2021 to July 2023. Her gross monthly income was €6,666.67.
Ms Ryan presented herself at the WRC hearing and revealed that she used to work for Rinocloud Ltd, an AI firm that ceased operating the preceding year. In a June 2023 declaration, Ms Ryan stated she was notified about Rinocloud’s grim situation and impending termination of her role.
Despite assurances that her salary and annual holidays would be paid, Ms Ryan said that by the end of July there was no remuneration or explanation. The lack of clarity and certainty made it impossible for her to register for unemployment benefits.
With much frustration, she claimed that the head of service in the UK was not forthcoming in revealing the reasons even as they tried to assist. At the point of her termination from the firm, she mentioned that another enterprise had taken over Rinocloud Ltd’s old offices.
She further added that before her term ended she learned that her earnings and allotted leave would not be honoured due to the firm’s financial inadequacies. According to the WRC’s decision, this information seemed to emanate from the CEO of the company that took over Rinocloud Ltd, not from the subsidiary itself. Ms Ryan also suggested that she had used five of her annual leave days, leaving 9.5 days owed at the termination of her contract.
In the recent hearing, Officer Patsy Doyle noted that there was a lack of appearance or defence from the concerned party. Regardless of all endeavours to get the respondent to attend, all correspondence kept getting reverted from the business address, Doyle noted. Doyle stated that the claimant’s depiction of the employment relationship was quite abnormal.
Officer Doyle mentioned that according to the Company Registration Office (CRO), Rinocloud Ltd is marked as a private company with a “normal” status. Its registered location from 2016 was at IDA Industrial Estate, Charleville, Cork county. This is where all between-party correspondence was forwarded for their review.
Doyle expressed frustration over the respondent’s reluctance to engage in the legal claim, calling it unwarranted. She acknowledged the claimant’s solid evidence and described the company’s avoidance of their obligations.
Later, Officer Doyle scrutinised the agreement signed by the claimant in November 2021 but not by the employer, which showed a different registered office than the one at CRO. She remarked that this six-year gap post company registration was misleading.
Officer Doyle accepted the uncontested proof presented that Ms Ryan had accumulated her yearly leave which remained unused, and the respondent fell short of demonstrating the leave had been used.
She expressed her desire to see a more proactive approach from both sides towards the dispute, adhering to the contractual grievance policy. Nevertheless, she took into account the abrupt conclusion of the employment. She ruled the claim to be valid, consequently awarding Ms Ryan €3,166.66 for the unused leave.