ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00013913
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-00018360-001 | 07/04/2018 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00018360-003 | 07/04/2018 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 07/06/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Penelope McGrath
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and following the presentation by an employee of a complaint of a contravention by an employer of an Act contained in Schedule 5 of the Workplace Relations Act of 2015, made to the Director General and following a referral by the said Director General of this matter to the Adjudication services, I can confirm that I have fulfilled my obligation to make all relevant inquiries into the complaint. I have additionally and where appropriate heard the oral evidence of the parties and their witnesses and have taken account of the evidence tendered during the course of the hearing.
In particular, the Complainant herein has referred the following complaints:
1.
A complaint of a contravention of Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, that is, a Complaint of an unlawful deduction having been made from the Employee’s wage. Pursuant to Section 6 of the said 1991 Act, in circumstances where the Adjudicator finds that the complaint of a contravention of Section 5 aforesaid, is deemed to be well founded, then the Adjudicator can direct that the employer pay to the employee an amount which is subject to the limits set out in Section 6 of the 1991 Payment of Wages Act 1991.
In a preliminary way, I am satisfied a Contract of Employment existed between the parties such that a wage defined by the 1991 Act was payable to the Employee by the Employer in connection with the employment. I further find that the Complainant’s Workplace Relations Complaint Form dated the 7th of April 2018 was submitted within the time allowed.
2.
The Complaint herein relates to a contravention of The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and in particular to a contravention under Section 21 which provides for entitlements in respect of Public Holidays.
Pursuant to Section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (as amended), a decision of an adjudication officer as provided for under Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act shall do one or more of the following:
- Declare the complaint was or was not well founded;
- Require the Employer to comply with the relevant provision;
- Require the employer to pay to the employee compensation of such amount as is just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances but not exceeding 2 years remuneration.
Background:
The Complainant worked in Norway as a plumber. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant had had a bad experience with a workplace colleague such that he no longer wanted to work and/or live in close proximity with this individual. The Complainant left the employment and subsequently noted that his last remuneration notification was considerably less than he anticipated it should be. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent believed the Complainant had been paid up to date and reasoned that any deduction made was done lawfully and with good reason. There was no written consent to any out of the ordinary deduction. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I have carefully listened to the evidence adduced. The Complainant is a qualified plumber and was engaged by the Respondent company to work in Norway on a Contract of Employment that commenced in July of 2017. The Contract comes under the jurisdiction of the Irish legislation. The Complainant was provided with accommodation and was expected to be available for work per the Contract at whatever site was assigned locally to him. The arrangement worked without incident in the first four or five months. The Complainant had a falling out with a house mate and says that the row escalated to the extent that the Complainant says his life was verbally threatened and he was in fear. The Complainant notified his Employer of the situation but within days left the house and indeed appears to have abandoned the job and come home to Ireland. The Complainant noted that a figure of €673.00 was deducted from his final paycheck payable on the 31st of January 2018. The sum was deducted as flights and accommodation but it was not clear from the wage slip exactly what was being deducted and in how much. It subsequently appears to have transpired that the Complainant was deducted sums of money for car damage and usage. The Respondent company had been fixed with a bill from the van hire third party it used. The Respondent deducted the figure of about €257.00 from the Complainant’s pay to part-discharge the bill for damage caused when the vehicle was in the charge of the Complainant. This was not agreed with the Complainant in advance. A further sum of money was deducted in respect of a parking fine on the vehicle though it was not proven that the Complainant had incurred this fine and the Respondent conceded this point. The Complainant was further deducted a sum of money for accommodation though I heard evidence that the accommodation was provided for by the Employer for a number of employees and therefore the Employer was not out of pocket and again appears to have unilaterally deducted the sum in response to the Complainant leaving the place of work in the manner outlined. On balance I am absolutely satisfied that the Complaint herein is well founded and that the Employer unlawfully deducted arbitrary amounts of money from the Complainant’s remuneration. The Complainant has additionally claimed that he lost three Bank Holidays over the Christmas period and I am satisfied on the evidence that this is the case and the claim is well founded and the Complainant is at a loss of three days €562.50. |
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.
Regarding the Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 I find the Complaint to be well founded and direct the Employer pay the sum of €600.00. Regarding the Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 I find the Complaint well founded and award the sum of €562.50 |
Dated: 20/09/2018
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Penelope McGrath