ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00023145
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Steel Erector | Steel Works |
Complaints:
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-00028556-001 | 20/05/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00028556-003 | 20/05/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00028556-004 | 20/05/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 16/09/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.
Background:
The Complainant was employed as a Steel Erector from 15th April 2019 to 10th May 2019. He was paid €496.00 per week. He has claimed that he did not received a written contract of employment, was not notified in writing of changes to his contract and he is owed wages. |
1)Terms of Employment (Information) Act 28556-003/004
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
Sec 3: The Complainant stated that he did not receive a written statement of his terms and conditions of employment Sec 5: He stated that he did not receive written notification of changes to his terms and conditions of employment. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent did not attend and was not represented. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I note correspondence on file advising both parties of the venue, date and time of the hearing. I note that the Respondent did not attend and was not represented. Based on the uncontested evidence before this hearing I find as follows. I note that Sec 2 (1) (b) states This Act shall not apply to – employment in which the employee has been in the continuous service of the employer for less than one month”. Sec 3 (1) “An employer shall, not later than 2 months after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment” Sec 5 states “the employer shall notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change as soon as may be thereafter, but not later than (a) 1 month after the change takes effect”. In part 1 of the Schedule to the Interpretation Act 2005 month is defined as : “month” means a calendar month” I find that the Complainant has not one month’s continuous service and so no breach of Sec 3 or 5 may be claimed. I note that Employment Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2018 which became law on 4th March 2019 amended the main Act. It requires Employers to supply the following information within 5 days of commencement of employment. Full names of employees and Employers Address of the Employer Expected duration of contract Rate or method of calculating pay Length of the working day, reasonable expectation. I find that this amendment came into force on 4th March 2019 and this employment did not commence until 15th April 2019. So this employment was covered by the amendment to the main Act. I find that the Respondent failed to provide that information within the requisite 5 days. I find that the Respondent has breached the Act. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
I have decided that the Respondent has breached the Act. I require the Respondent to pay the Complainant compensation of €750.00 within six weeks of the date below. |
2)Payment of Wages Act 28556-001
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant stated that he was owed pay for two weeks. He received net pay of €446.08 and €791.01 respectively. He worked each week from 7.00am to 6.00pm less one-hour break. He believes that he is owed a total of 110 hours. He claimed on the claim FORM €700. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent did not attend and was not represented. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I note correspondence on file advising both parties of the venue, date and time of the hearing. I note that the Respondent did not attend and was not represented. Based on the uncontested evidence before this hearing I find as follows. I note that the Complainant has claimed €700 on the claim form. I note that he received a total of €1,237.09 net. I find that he has claimed that he is owed 110 hours as claimed, amounting to x €12.70 per hour (based on €496/39 hours) = €1,3981. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
I have decided based on uncontested evidence that the Complainant is owed 110 hours pay. I require the Respondent to pay the Complainant €1,3981.00 less statutory deductions within six weeks of the date below. |
Dated: 30-10-2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly
Key Words:
Did not get contract of employment, was not notified in writing of changes to contract, illegal deduction from wages |