ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00012140
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Carer | An Animal Care Service |
Complaint(s):
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-00015919-001 | 21/11/2017 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 | CA-00016263-001 | 11/12/2017 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/02/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael Hayes
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and/or Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 - 2014 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).
Background:
The complainant worked for the respondent for a period of 15 years to the 31st of October 2017 as a care person. She was paid €415.02 gross or €345 net for a 40-hour week. The complainant made written submission and both sides made oral submission to the hearing. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00015919-001: The complainant submits that the respondent made an illegal deduction (€54.13) from her wages per week in respect of the ‘bike to work” scheme in circumstances where she has no bike and does not ride a bike. She asserts that she is obliged to pay full board and lodgings at the rate being deducted but states that she buys her own food and that deduction should be at the rate of €21.85 per week in that case. CA-00016263-001: The complainant submits that the respondent’s mother (the person for whom she was providing the care) died at the end of August 2017 and she was not offered suitable alternative employment. She was offered work in the pound. She received her P45 in December but did not receive redundancy despite request. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
CA-00015919-001: The respondent submits that the substance of the deduction is that of accommodation and lodgings arising from a NERA inspection in 2011. The respondent was informed that he was obliged to include any deductions in the payslip. CA-00016263-001: The respondent submits that the complainant handed in her notice on July 18th of 2017, in a meeting with himself and his sister. She requested to be allowed to remain in her position until the end of October. This was agreed however the respondent’s mother died unexpectedly. The matter was discussed with the complainant and she did not work after mid-September. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00015919-001: The cognisable period of the herein complaint is the six months from May 22nd to 21st of November 2017 (date of receipt of complaint. I accept that the heading incorrectly but that it was entitled to make some deduction for lodgings. I also accept that the appropriate amount for lodgings only was €21.85 per week. The net overcharge was therefore in the region of €28 per week. CA-00016263-001: I accept that the complainant had given notice of her intention to cease her employment at the end of October and therefore no entitlement to the payment of statutory redundancy exists in this case. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 – 2012 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under that Act.
CA-00015919-001: The complaint is well founded. I hereby require that the respondent pay the complainant €644 (say six hundred and forty-four euro net - being the amount deducted in the cognisable period) in compensation for breach of s. 5 of the Act. CA-00016263-001: The complaint is not well founded. |
Dated: 30th August 2018.
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael Hayes