Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Property Inspector

A Property Company

Act

Complaint Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00021075-001

09/08/2018

The Complainant claims that his employers have not paid the amount of wages that are due to him for a period of time. He has tried a number of times to engage with his employers but to no avail, and that is the reason for the case under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991.

The Complainant said that he commenced employment with the Respondent on 20 January 2018 and his employment ended on 4 May 2018. He said that he worked variable hours which averaged approximately 60 hours per month. He said he was paid €9.55 per hour plus expenses incurred.

The Complainant provided substantial documentation supporting his claim including detailed records of hours worked, of payment received, when payment was not received, or when payment was declined from his bank. He said that some payments were subsequently paid, and he provided records of that also.

He said he has been continually left short for hours worked in the months of February, March, April, and May. He said that he tried to engage with the Managing Director and there was an agreement to pay him by weekly instalments which would be completed by the end of May 2018, but that arrangement did not materialise. He said he got frustrated and left his employment because of non-payment of wages owed.

The Respondent sent an email to the Workplace Relations Commission on the 19 January to say that the company is about to enter into liquidation and no one will attend the hearing.

The Complainant attended the hearing and presented his case, supported with the substantial records on his case. The respondent failed to attend and present its case.

The primary issue for me in this case is whether the complainant suffered a deduction from his wages which was unlawful having regard to the Act at Section 5(1) which provides as follows;

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.

The uncontested evidence is that the deduction were made. The Complainant’s contract of employment does authorise the making of such deductions. It would appear that the deduction were routinely was made from the Complainants wages throughout the months of February, March, April, and May and no pre-notice was given of these deductions.

I am satisfied from the records presented that the Complainant’s calculations of €1470.70 wages are still outstanding for the period of time employed with the Respondent and although he has sought to find a solution in an orderly and timely fashion, the Respondent failed to assist him in reaching that solution. Accordingly, on the balance of probability, I determine that the Respondent made a deduction of €1,471 from the pay of the Complainant which is a breach of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 at Section 5(1). Accordingly, it follows that that complaint is well founded.

I find that the complaint made pursuant to the Payment of Wages Act is well founded, and the Respondent shall pay the Complainant €1,471 for the wages that are still outstanding and another €600 in compensation for a breach of Section 6 of the Act. The total equalling €2,071 [two thousand and seventy-one euro]

Payment of Wages Act – deduction - compensation