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-00019367-001

23/05/2018

The respondent is an IT company providing web design and support to small businesses. The complainant was employed as a marketing manager on an annual salary of €37,200, resulting in monthly wages of €3,100 gross. Her complaint is that, while she worked for the company, she was not always paid the full amount of her monthly wages and, when her employment was terminated, there was a shortfall of €8,520.92 in wages due, plus pay in lieu of holidays not taken of €687.50, resulting in a total shortfall of €9,218.42.

At the hearing, the complainant said that she joined the company in February 2016, and on a regular basis from April 2017, until she left in March 2018, her wages were not paid in full. In some months, she said that the shortfall from a previous month would be made up, but the following month, there would be another shortfall. In January 2018, the complainant said that she and her husband were applying for mortgage approval. When she couldn’t produce evidence in her bank account of regular amounts in monthly wages, this had a negative effect on how their application was considered, and this resulted in unnecessary stress.

In February 2018, the complainant said that her employer informed her that he had no money to pay her wages and that her employment with the company would be terminated.   Her P45 shows that her employment ceased on February 28th 2018. Although she was being let go, her employer told her that she would be assigned to work for an associated company. This was a small business that the main company had done work for.   The complainant agreed and she worked for the month of March for this company. At the end of March, she was informed that the funds had run out and they had no money to pay her. The complainant produced evidence in the form of a text message in which the CEO of the first company said that he would pay her for the month of March.

In the weeks following the termination of the complainant’s employment, €4,000 was transferred to her bank account by her former employer, resulting in a current shortfall of €5,218.42. At the hearing, the complainant presented copies of eight e mails that she sent to the respondent from May 2018, with his replies. The latest reply was on September 24th 2018, two days before this hearing, where the respondent replied to her request for payment saying, “I am meeting with our finance company this week when we hope to have a date for the payment to be made to you.”

The respondent did not attend the hearing.

Based on the complainant’s evidence at the hearing, and the documents she submitted, it appears that the respondent is willing to pay the complainant the amount owed.   However, despite her best efforts, and the fact that she informed him of her intention to submit a complaint to the WRC, she has not been paid the remainder of the amount she is owed.   Based on the evidence of the complainant, I am satisfied that the amount of €5,218.42 is the amount owed in respect of unpaid wages and pay in lieu of holidays.

I have decided that the respondent is to pay the complainant a sum of €5,218.42 in respect of unpaid wages which were due at the termination of her employment on March 31st 2018.

Payment of wages