ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference:
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A Worker | A Fish Shop |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
CA-00020899-001 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing:
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.
Background:
The complainant claimed he worked in excess of 48 hours during his employment. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The employee commenced employment approximately 20th March 2014 and his employment ceased on 27th July 2018. The complainant claimed that he had worked in excess of the required hours under the legislation.
He detailed that he used to fill in a log-in sheet detailing his start and end time but that the Head finance person changed the process and it was no longer possible to detail when employees finished their shift. He also detailed that the log in sheet would not reflect hours actually worked. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent disputed the claim and provided details of hours worked. The respondent accepted that the method for recording hours changed and detailed that the complainant would not complete the sheet with the required hours that he worked.
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Findings and Conclusions:
The complainant found it at times difficult to articulate how many hours he actually worked but detailed that he would have, at times, worked more than the 48 hours as prescribed in the Act. I note that while the respondent had records of the complainant’ ‘roster’, the respondent did not have complete records of the complainant’s working time,
Section 15 provides that .— (1) An employer shall not permit an employee to work, in each period of 7 days, more than an average of 48 hours, that is to say an average of 48 hours calculated over a period (hereafter in this section referred to as a “ reference period ”) that does not exceed— ( a) 4 months…
Section 25 (4) of the Act provides that where an employer fails to keep records the onus of proof that the provision of the Act has been complied with lies with the employer. In this instant case, I find that the burden of proof has not been discharged by the respondent. I find the Complainant’s complaint to be well founded and I require the Respondent to pay to the Complainant the sum of €500 compensation.
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Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
I find the Complainant’s complaint to be well founded and I require the Respondent to pay to the Complainant the sum of €500 compensation. |
Dated: 07/05/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer:
Key Words:
Hours of work |