ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00005877

Parties:

Complaints for Resolution:

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 1^st March 2017

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Seán Reilly

Location of Hearing: The Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo.                                                                                                      

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.

Background:

The Complainant was employed by the Respondent from 12^th November 2015 to 28^th February 2016 and her weekly rate was €366.00c.

The Complainant was submitting that the Respondent had (a) failed to pay her wages properly payable to her and (b) failed to pay for accrued untaken annual leave at the termination of her employment.

The Respondent was not present or represented and they sent no submissions.

Preliminary Issue:      

The complaint was presented to the WRC on 10^th November 2016 and in accordance with the provisions of Section 41(6) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 the normal period under consideration for the purposes of the complaint is 6 months from the date of the presentation of the complaint, which in this case is 10^th May 2016 and this is after the Complainant’s employment with the Respondent terminated.   However, the Complainant made submissions that in accordance with the provisions of Section 41(8) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, the failure to present the complaint at an earlier date was due to reasonable cause that justified extending the normal 6 month period for the consideration of complaints by a further 6 months.

The Complainant said that she was attempting to resolve the matter directly with the Respondent and was led to believe by the Respondent that the matters would be resolved and monies due would be paid to her and this delayed her taking advice on how to deal with the matter and submit complaints under the 1991 Act that justified extending the normal 6 month period for the consideration of complaints by a further 6 months.      

Summary of Complainant’s Case:                          

The Complainant submitted that she did not receive her full and appropriate wages for time worked in the relevant period.     The Complainant said that she was due the nett amount of €6,469.56c in that respect (details provided to the hearing)  

The Complainant further submitted that she did not receive any annual leave entitlements during her employment, nor did she receive payment in lieu of this accrued untaken annual leave at the time of the termination of her employment.   The Complainant submitted that she was due the nett amount of €457.00c in that respect.

The Complainant submitted that she was due the total nett amount of €6,926.56c and she sought a decision to that effect.

Summary of Respondent’s Position:                                                                                        .

The Respondent was not present or represented at the Hearing and they sent no submissions.

Findings and Conclusions:

The Respondent was not present or represented at the Hearing and they sent no submissions, accordingly I only have the evidence and submissions of the Complainant to rely upon in this matter.

Based on the uncontested evidence of the Complainant I firstly am satisfied, and I find and conclude in relation to the preliminary issue that in accordance with the provisions of Section 41(8) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 there was reasonable cause that justified extending the normal 6 month relevant period for consideration of complaints by a further 6 months.

Based on the uncontested evidence of the Complainant I secondly find and conclude that the complaints under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 are well founded and are upheld.

Decisions:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint consisting of a grant of redress in accordance with the provisions of the same Section of the 1991 Act.

Based on the above findings and conclusions that following are my decisions in there matters.

Preliminary Issue:   Based on the above findings and conclusion I have granted the application for an extension of the normal 6 months period under consideration for the purposes of the instant complaints; accordingly the relevant period under consideration for those purposes is from 10^th November 2015 to the date the employment terminated, 28^th February 2017.

Substantatitive Issues: Based on the above findings and conclusions and the uncontested evidence of the Complainant I declare that the complaints are well founded and they are upheld in full

The total nett amount due to the Complainant is €6,926.56c and I require the Respondent to pay her that amount within 6 weeks of the date of this employment.

Dated:   25^th April 2017

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Seán Reilly

Key Words:  Non Payment of Wages and Non Payment of Annual Leave Payment.