Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

Restaurant Worker

Restaurant Owner

Represented

Not represented 

Not represented 

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000

CA-00009422-001

31/01/2017

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

CA-00009422-002

31/01/2017

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00009422-003

31/01/2017

The complainant commenced employment in the respondent’s restaurant on May 7, 2016.   The employment relationship was difficult and there were further difficulties in relation to receiving wages.   The complainant left the employment on November 11, 2016.

The respondent paid the complainant at the rate of €8.25 per hour for the first 3 months. This was below the correct minimum wage.

The complainant did not receive a copy of his terms and conditions of employment.

The complainant did not receive any payment for the final month of his employment.

The complainant received full payment in accordance with the National Minimum Wage in 2016.

At commencement of employment the complainant was 22 years of age with zero work experience and after 3 months he received a pay rise to €9.15 per hour.

The complainant received a statement in writing of his terms of employment signed by himself.

The complainant received full payment in accordance with the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, for his 6 month’s employment with the restaurant.

The respondent did not attend the hearing or provide any explanation in that regard. The respondent had, however, submitted a written response to the complaints raised by the complainant.

The complainant was employed in a restaurant commencing employment on 7 May 2016 and terminating his employment on 9 November 2016.

Complaint No. CA-00009422-001:

The National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, states:

Section 14; Subject to sections 17 and 18 –

(a)   An employee who has attained the age of 18 years shall, subject to sections 15, 16 and 41, be remunerated by his or her employer in respect of the employee’s working hours in any pay reference period, at an hourly rate of pay that on average is not less than the national minimum rate of pay…

The C.V. which was submitted by the complainant to the respondent stated that he had commenced employment in his native country in February 2014 and had also worked in 2015.   The complainant was 22 years of age in 2016. He was therefore over 18 when he commenced employment with the respondent and it was more than two years since the date of his first employment.

The documentation which the complainant received from the respondent which has a pay reference period of one month shows that he worked a total of 337 hours at €8.25 per hour between May and July. The applicable National Minimum Wage for the period was €9.15 per hour. There is therefore an arrears amount of €269.60.

Complaint No. CA-00009422-002:

The Terms of Employment (Information) Act , 19994, states:

Section 3(1): An employer shall, not later than 2 months after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment…

The respondent in his written submission included a copy of a document entitled “Employment Agreement” which he stated that the respondent received.   While this document includes the title of the employer, any signatures appear to be redacted. The complainant in evidence said that he had never received this document. There is therefore a conflict of evidence in this regard but, as the respondent failed to attend the hearing to give direct evidence, I must accept the complainant’s version in this regard.

Complaint No. CA-00009422-003:

The third complaint is in relation to the Payment of Wages Act, 1991. The complainant in evidence said that he was not paid any money in relation to the payslip issued on 10 November 2016 for work performed in October.   This amounts to €1692.02 net.   The complainant stated that this was linked to an attempted robbery at the premises in October. The respondent in his written submission makes reference to a Garda investigation involving the complainant. The complainant in evidence stated that he was also due wages for work performed in November prior to his resignation as follows:

2 November – 9 hours

3 November – 6 hours

4 November – 7.5 hours

5 November – 7.5 hours

8 November – 9.5 hours

Total: 39.5 hours

Section 5 (2) of the Act prohibits an employer from making a deduction from an employee’s wages in respect any act or omission of the employee unless the employee has been furnished with notice in writing of the making and the amount of the deduction at least one week before making the deduction.

The above procedure is of course subject to due process and natural justice. As the respondent failed to attend the hearing there was no further evidence justifying these deductions.

Based on the above and having carefully considered all matters put before me I make the following decisions:

Complaint No. CA-00009422-001:

I find this complaint to be well founded and I require the respondent to pay to the complainant the sum of €269.90, being the amount due in arrears in this regard.

Complaint No. CA-00009422-002:

I find this complainant to be well founded and I require the respondent to pay to the complainant the sum of €1,000.00 as compensation in this regard.

Complaint No. CA-00009422-003:

I find this complaint to be well founded and I require the respondent to pay the complainant the sum of €2,053.45 as compensation in this regard.