Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

An Estimator

A Company

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-00018254-001

02/04/2018

The Complainant was employed from 3rd January 2018 and 3th March 2018.   The Complainant referred a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission on the 2nd of April, 2018 alleging the Respondent had breached the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 – 2015.

The complainant submits that

He was employed by the respondent from 3rd January 2018 to 13th March 2018 on a full-time basis as an Estimator/Tenderer,

On the day of his termination of employment he should have received the pay he was owed for 9 days work (1st – 13th March 2018) as well as pay for annual leave not taken and a bank holiday,

He is owed the equivalent of 11.6 days wages.

The respondent submits that

The complainant was employed for the period stated,

The complainant is not entitled to the wages being claimed as he took more annual leave than stated in the relevant period,

The complainant failed to show up at work on a number of occasions and also went home from work sick at other times,

The complainant had on another occasion stated that he could not come to work as his car was covered in snow,

The complainant cost him more money in mistakes than he made on the job.

Section 5(6) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 – 2015 provides as follows – “Where – (a) the total amount of any wages that are paid on any occasion by an employer to an employee is less than the total amount of wages that is properly payable by him to the employee on that occasion (after making any deductions therefrom that fall to be made and are in accordance with the Act), or (b) none of the wages that are properly payable to the employee by an employer on any occasion (after making any such deductions as aforesaid) are paid to the employee, then, except in so far as the deficiency or non-payment is attributable to an error of computation, the amount of the deficiency or non-payment shall be treated as a deduction made by the employer from the wages of the employee on the occasion”.

The complainant has claimed that he is owed 11.6 days wages by the respondent.   The respondent at the hearing agreed that the complainant may be due some wages but not as much as he is claiming. The respondent stated that the complainant failed to show up for work on a number of occasions and also went home from work sick at other times. The respondent stated that the complainant had on another occasion stated that he could not come to work as his car was covered in snow. The respondent told the hearing that the complainant while on the respondent’s payroll had decided to spend a day at an exhibition while he was meant to be at work for the respondent on the day in question.

Both parties agreed that the complainant was paid in full for the months of January and February.

The complainant initially stated that he was owed wages for the period from 1st of March to 13th of March, 2018. After much discussion at the hearing the complainant reduced his claim from 11.6 days to 3.6 days and conceded that he had been paid for 8 of the 11.6 days. The days being claimed were discussed at the hearing and the outcome of this discussion was that the number of days owed to the complainant was 3.6 days.

In a High Court case Dunnes Stores (Cornelscourt) v Lacey & O’Brien (2005) Finnegan P. stated that in determining claims under the legislation, the central consideration is whether or not the remuneration in question was “properly payable” to the claimant.  

Having carefully considered all the arguments I am satisfied that the payment claimed is remuneration that is properly payable to the complainant.

Accordingly, I am satisfied from the totality of the evidence adduced that he complainant is entitled to 3.6 days wages and I direct the respondent to pay him the equivalent of 3.6 days wages.

I find the complaint to be well-founded and I direct the respondent to pay the complainant the equivalent of 3.6 days wages.