ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00001325
Complaint(s)/Dispute(s) for Resolution:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00001780-002 | 06/01/2016 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 08/09/2016
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and or section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 following the referral of the complaint(s)/dispute(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s)/dispute(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s)/dispute(s).
Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:
I was told on the (Wednesday) 9th of December 2015 by Respondents A & B that I was to demoted from shop manger to cashier (my old position) and that my rate of pay was being dropped and my work hours were being dropped to 35.5 hours per week .on the (saturday) 12th i was told by Respondent B (co owner) to start my hoildays on the (monday) 14th and return to work on the 30th of december. On the 19th I went to collect my wages and they had already cut my wages so I rang the shop owner Respondent A and he arranged for for the rest to be paid. |
Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:
No written submission was received from the Respondents. An Oral presentation was made. It was stated that on or about the 11th November 2015 Respondent A verbally agreed to give the Complainant an informal “Trial” of the position of Shop Manager. His weekly wage was agreed to go to a nett of €500 a week. The pay slips presented confirmed the change in the rate of pay.
This “Trial” was concluded by Respondent B on the 9th December 2015 and the Complainant reverted to his former rate of pay.
As the entire situation was completely informal there was never any recognition of the need to notify the Complainant in writing of any changes to his terms and conditions.
Decision:
Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and or section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under the Acts cited.
Issues for Decision:
Were the Complainant’s terms and conditions of Employment altered to such an extent as to merit being notified in writing of the changes as provided for by Section 5 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.
Legislation involved and requirements of legislation:
Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994
Decision:
The entire situation was informal and at the hearing it was clear that an informal style of management was the norm.
None the less I find the Complaint to be well founded
The Complainant had his T and Cs altered albeit for a period of approximately four weeks. This change and the subsequent revision to his former position should have been notified to him under Sections 5/6 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.
Accordingly I award the Complainant the sum of 16 hours pay (8 hours for each incident) = 16 X €9.50 = €152:00 as Compensation.
As this is Compensation for Breach of a Statutory Right it is, subject to Revenue approval, tax free.
Dated: 17th November 2016