Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Carpenter

A Construction Company

Representatives

Appeared in Person

No Appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent

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-00028772-001

29/05/2019

The Complainant, A Carpenter submitted a complaint involving non-payment of wages owed to the WRC on 29 May 2019. He made parallel requests seeking a workplace inspection on the same date.

There was no appearance on behalf of the Respondent at hearing and no defence to the claim was lodged.

The Complainant outlined that he had been employed by the Respondent from January 7, 2019 to April 25, 2019. His nett pay was €600 a week for a 42.5 hour working week. He had not been provided with a contract of employment of pay slips.

The Complainant outlined that he had been underpaid by €1548 which comprised €780 in unpaid wages and €768 in unpaid holidays. The Complainant exhibited his Personal Bank Statements 25 January to 2 April which reflected 9 periods of payment to his account.

He submitted that the Respondent had two other employees and The Respondent had frequently been late in making wage payments. There were Revenue and PRSI issues with this employment,

The Complainant had tried to resolve the matter directly with the Respondent, but he did not answer his calls. The Complainant gave evidence on the days he worked without receiving payment.

The Complainant understood that he had been replaced when the Respondent took on Sub Contractors. He sought payment of monies owed.

There was no appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent. The Respondent did not file a defence to the claim.

I have listened very carefully to the Complainant oral presentation. I am satisfied that the Respondent was on notice of the claim details and the invitation to attend a hearing of the matter. I allowed a delay to the commencement of the hearing in case of any unforeseen eventuality.

This is a claim for unpaid wages and holiday pay under the Payment of Wages Act. I did not any documents to link the complainant to the employment outside a copy of his bank statements which recorded 9 transactions of wages received for work done. The Complainant pointed to 6.5 days during April 2019 where he was not paid, and holidays owed at the cessation of his employment. He was frank in his presentation of outstanding issues with Revenue and PRSI at the employment. He submitted that the WRC Inspectorate were in the process of a workplace investigation.

I found the complainant credible in his outline of the events which led to this claim.

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 provides:

 Regulation of certain deductions made, and payments received by employers.

5

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 any statute or any instrument made under statute,

(b) the deduction (or payment) is required or authorised to be made by 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.

Based on the uncontested evidence of the complainant, supported by the record of sequential payments to the complainant’s bank account 25 January -2 April 2019, I accept that his wages were unlawfully deducted as submitted. I have also found that he is entitled to receive unpaid holidays.

It is regrettable that the Respondent did not issue pay slips or a contract of employment.

I have found his claim to be well founded.

Decision:

Section 41 of The Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 require that I decide in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under those Acts.

I have found the claim to be well founded. I order the Respondent to pay the complainant

€1, 548.00 in unpaid wages less statutory reductions.

Unpaid wages