Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

General Operative

Meat Processing Plant

Representatives

 Solicitors

 Ibec West

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-00019211-001

16/05/2018

The Complainant contends that the Respondent made unlawful deductions from his pay amounting to 13 weeks pay.

The Complainant was out sick for a period of 3 weeks, from 19th February to 9th March 2018 with severe leg, hip and back pain. He was prescribed strong painkillers and underwent xrays.     After around 2 weeks he experienced some improvement and he was able to venture outside.   He lives with his wife on her parent’s farm. By the third week, he was able to help with some light work on the farm, mainly feeding cattle, but was not fit to return to work.   When he did return to work, he was called to a disciplinary meeting and his employment was terminated. Following an appeal, the sanction was reduced to a 13 week unpaid suspension.   It is argued that what the employer did in this case was entirely unlawful and damaging to the reputation of the Complainant.  The Complainant was dismissed from his job. Then it appears that a final warning was substituted for dismissal.   There was no natural justice afforded to the Complainant in the situation, he was never given any report which led to his dismissal and the deductions made were unlawful.

The complainant is employed since 2002, with a short break in service from January to April 2006.     His absence record was poor, and in 2013 he was suspended from the sick pay scheme for 12 months. The Complainant went absent on Monday 12th February and on 19th February 2018 with an alleged back/hip/leg injury. During the course of his absence, the Company was made aware that he was working while absent from work. On 13th March, the Company’s Insurers confirmed that the Complainant was working on the family farm. A meeting was arranged with the Complainant and his Shop Steward, as per company procedure. When it was put to the Complainant that he was working on the farm while absent on sick leave, he denied same. When a photograph of the Complainant working on the farm was produced, the Complainant confirmed that he was in fact working on the farm. The Company took time to reflect and when the meeting reconvened, confirmed that it had no alternative but to terminate the Complainant’s employment for gross misconduct. Following an appeal, the sanction was reduced to a 13 week suspension which is provided for in the Company works Agreement, clause 25.1 and 25.3.   It is submitted that the Complainant was originally dismissed and on appeal, this was reduced to a 13 weeks suspension. The Complainant should consider himself lucky to have kept his job.   It is a matter of contractual agreement as allowed for by Section 5 of the Act.  

Section 5 of the Act provides:

“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.”