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-00020499-001

11/07/2018

The complainant was employed by the respondent as an Editorial and Marketing Writer from 27th June 2016 until 31st May 2018. She was paid €2254.16 gross per month. The complaint relates to an alleged breach of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991.

The complainant stated that she received a payslip dated 31st May 2018 but that no money was paid into her bank account. The complainant confirmed that she left the employment on 31st May 2018 due to ongoing financial problems and delays in the payment of her salary. The complainant contends that although there were frequent delays in receiving her salary, the first time that she had received no payment was in respect of the payslip dated 31st May 2018. The complainant contends that she is owed €1,759.38 in respect of the unpaid salary.

The respondent did not attend the Adjudication hearing and was not represented.

It is unfortunate that the respondent did not attend the Adjudication hearing to present its position in relation to the complaint.

The complainant provided records in relation to the pay period in question and her bank statement for the corresponding period. From the evidence presented, it is clear that the complainant’s salary was not paid into her back account on 31st May 2018 or in the month that followed her resignation.

The Applicable Law

Section 5(6) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 states as follows:

(6) 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 this Act), or

(b) none of the wages that are properly payable to an 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.

Based on the uncontested evidence of the complainant, I am satisfied that the respondent did not discharge the appropriate salary payment as detailed in the payslip dated 31st May 2018. Accordingly, I find that the respondent breached Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991.

Having considered the complainant’s direct evidence on the subject matter of the complaint, I declare that the complaint is well founded. The respondent is directed to pay the complainant a net payment of €1,759.38 in respect of unpaid salary payments.