Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

Restaurant Worker

Restaurant Owner

Representatives

Act

Complaint/Dispute Reference No.

Date of Receipt

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

CA-00005944-001

19/07/2016

The complainant was employed as a waiter in a restaurant owned by the respondent.   Employment commenced on 14 October 2015 on a part-time basis. The restaurant closed without notice on 26 June 2016.

The restaurant closed without notice on 26 June 2016.

The complainant was owed 3 weeks’ wages.

The complainant did not receive holiday pay due to her.

The complainant did not receive any pay in lieu of notice.

The respondent did not attend the hearing nor was any written response received.

The complainant worked an average of 14 hours per week at the rate of €10.00 per hour, paid weekly.   Just two days prior to the closure the complainant became aware that there were issues with the landlord.   On 26 June 2016 the complainant turned up for work to find the premises closed. She met with the owner who promised to pay her the money due to her. During the course of her employment the complainant did not always receive her wages when they were due. As a result she was due pay for 3 weeks when the restaurant closed. The complainant received the payslips by email but no money was transferred to her account. She also received a payslip dated 10 June 2016 in respect of holiday pay which had a zero amount on it.

The complainant continued to keep in touch with the owner regarding the money that was due to her and eventually in December the sum of €200.00 was transferred to her account.   No further payments were received.

The Payment of Wages Act, 1991, defines wages as follows:

“wages” in relation to an employee, means any sums payable to the employee by the employer in connection with his employment, including –

(a)    any fee, bonus or commission, or any holiday, sick or maternity pay, or any other emolument, referable to his employment, whether payable under his contract of employment or otherwise, and

(b)    any sum payable to the employee upon the termination by the employer of his contract of employment without his having given to the employee the appropriate prior notice of the termination, being a sum paid in lieu of the giving of such notice:

Based on the information before me the complainant was owed 3 weeks wages at the time of closure which equates to €420.00.

As regards holiday pay the complainant stated that she had received €80.00 is this regard during her term of employment, a total of 32 weeks at 14 hours per week. The complainant would therefore be due €358.40 in total in this regard and had received €80.00. There is therefore a balance of €278.40 due in this regard.

The Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, Section 4(2), specifies the amount of notice which must be given to an employee and which in the case of the complainant amounts to one week. This equates to €140.00.

The total sum due to the complainant under the various headings totals €838.40. The respondent paid €200.00 to the complainant in December 2016. There is a balance due therefore of €638.40.

Complaint No. CA-00005944-001:

Based on the evidence before me I find this complaint to be well founded and I require the respondent to pay to the complainant the sum of €638.40 as compensation in this regard.