ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

An Employee –v- A Publisher.

Adjudication Decision Reference: ADJ-00006170

Complaint for Resolution:

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 17/02/2017

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Niamh O'Carroll Kelly

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, and in accordance with Section 6 Payment of wages Act, 1991, following the referral of the complaint 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 complaint

Complainant’s Submission and Presentation:

The complainant started with the respondent company in April, 2016. There was an issue with how her salary was being paid from the outset. She was paid late, in lesser amounts than those agreed and for the last two weeks in August and September, 2016 she was not paid at all. It became apparent to her in September that the company was not doing well and would not be able to pay her wages. She handed in her notice on the 26th of September and finished up on the 29th of September. The complainant has requested several updates in relation to money that is due and owing to her. She was assured that it would be paid. However, to date no payment has been made. The complainant states that she is owed € 637.40 for the month of August and € 1516.50 for the month of September, 2016.

Respondent’s Submission and Presentation:

The managing director of the respondent conceded that the complainant’s wages for August and September, in the amounts set out by the complainant, are due and owing to her. He apologised to her for the delay and stated that the company was experiencing financial difficulties in 2016. In addition they did not receive two grants which they had expected to. That served to place the company under more financial pressure. The respondent states that the complainant and other employees are owed money and he proposes to pay them all, in instalments, when he can afford to.  

Decision:

Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

 
5.—(1) An employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee (or receive any payment from an employee) unless— 

(a) the deduction (or payment) is required or authorised to be made by virtue of any statute or any instrument made under statute,

(b) the deduction (or payment) is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a term of the employee's contract of employment included in the contract before, and in force at the time of, the deduction or payment, or

(c) in the case of a deduction, the employee has given his prior consent in writing to it.

(2) An employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee in respect of—

(a) any act or omission of the employee, or

(b) any goods or services supplied to or provided for the employee by the employer the supply or provision of which is necessary to the employment,

unless—

(i) the deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a term (whether express or implied and, if express, whether oral or in writing) of the contract of employment made between the employer and the employee, and

(ii) the deduction is of an amount that is fair and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances (including the amount of the wages of the employee), and

   (iii) before the time of the act or omission or the provision of the goods or services, the employee has been furnished with—

(I) in case the term referred to in subparagraph (i) is in writing, a copy thereof,

(II) in any other case, notice in writing of the existence and effect of the term,

and

(iv) in case the deduction is in respect of an act or omission of the employee, the employee has been furnished, at least one week before the making of the deduction, with particulars in writing of the act or omission and the amount of the deduction, and

(v) in case the deduction is in respect of compensation for loss or damage sustained by the employer as a result of an act or omission of the employee, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the amount of the loss or the cost of the damage, and

(vi) in case the deduction is in respect of goods or services supplied or provided as aforesaid, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the cost to the employer of the goods or services, and

(vii) the deduction or, if the total amount payable to the employer by the employee in respect of the act or omission or the goods or services is to be so paid by means of more than one deduction from the wages of the employee, the first such deduction is made not later than 6 months after the act or omission becomes known to the employer or, as the case may be, after the provision of the goods or services.

The respondent concedes that the complainant is owed the sum of €2,153.90.

The complainant’s claim is well founded and I award the complainant compensation in the sum of

€ 2,153.90

Dated: 6 April 2017