ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00022994
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Electrical Worker | Retail Outlet |
Representatives |
| Aleksandra Tiilikainen IBEC |
Complaint:
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-00029668-001 | 14/07/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 03/10/2019
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 complaint:
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 20th of October 2017 was submitted within the time allowed.
Background:
The Complainant brings a claim by way of Workplace Relations Complaint Form dated the 14th of July 2019 and seeks remuneration for work. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant says that he was engaged by the Respondent to carry out certain Maintenance works in one of their Dublin-based stores. This work lasted for four days. He was not remunerated. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent stated that the Complainant was not it’s Employee and it had no Contractual relationship with him in that or any other capacity. |
Findings and Conclusions:
In the course of evidence, it became clear that the Complainant had indeed been on the Respondent’s property on the dates in May of 2019 that he says he was present. At that time, he did some lighting work and ceiling repairs. However, the Complainant was not engaged by the Respondent to do this work and it seems likely that the work was carried out by a sub-contractor that had independently engaged the Complainant to carry out the work in question. Insofar as it could, the Respondent witnesses assisted the Complainant in trying to track down the party that had engaged the Complainant to carry out the works on the premises. On the preliminary issue I am satisfied that no 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 an employment. I further find that the Complainant’s Workplace Relations Complaint Form dated the 20th of October 2017 was submitted within the time allowed. |
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.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 CA-00029668-001 The Complaint herein is not well founded and therefore fails. |
Dated: 5th December 2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Penelope McGrath
Key Words:
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