Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Oyekayode  Durojaiye

Ltl LtdLibra Trans

Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Driver

Employer

Representatives

LornaCrowtherCitizen Information Service

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-00028618-002

23/05/2019

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

CA-00028618-003

23/05/2019

The Complainant is seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 and has submitted that the Respondent Company has not paid the amount due to him (CA-00028618-002).

The Complainant is seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment Information Act, 1994 and has submitted that he did not receive a statement in writing of his terms of employment (CA-00028618-003)

The Complainant was employed as driver by the Respondent Company from the 29^th March 2019 until the 4^th April 2019 when he resigned his employment.

The Complainant contract of employment provided that his remuneration would be €550.00 per week. The Complainant worked for four days for the Respondent Company and alleges he was only pad for one day in the amount of €109.45.

The Complainant accepted that he had received a statement in writing of his terms of employment and accordingly complaint CA-00028618-003 is withdrawn.

The Respondent Company acknowledged that the Complainant had worked for four days and was paid €109.45.

The Respondent Company accepted that the Complainant had attended a training day on the 29^th March 2019 and worked on the 2^nd April 2019, 3^rd April 2019 and the 4^th April 2019. Although, the Respondent Company stated that on the 4^th day of April 2019 the Complainant made three and a half hours of unscheduled stops and the manner in which the Complainant resigned his employment ultimately led to the Respondent Company suffering  a financial loss.

I have carefully listened to the evidence tendered in the course of this hearing by both parties.

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 provides, inter alia

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.

(2) An employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee in respect of—

(a) any act or omission of the employee, or

(b) any goods or services supplied to or provided for the employee by the employer the supply or provision of which is necessary to the employment…

and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 provides

6.(1) A decision of an adjudication officer under section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, in relation to a complaint of a contravention of section 5 as respects a deduction made by an employer from the wages of an employee or the receipt from an employee by an employer of a payment, that the complaint is, in whole or in part, well founded as respects the deduction or payment shall include a direction to the employer to pay to the employee compensation of such amount (if any) as he considers reasonable in the circumstances not exceeding—

(a) the net amount of the wages (after the making of any lawful deduction therefrom) that—

(i)                  in case the complaint related to a deduction would have been paid to the employee in respect of the week immediately preceding the date of the deduction if the deduction had not been made, or

(ii)                 in case the complaint related to a payment, were paid to the employee in respect of the week immediately preceding the date of payment,

or

(b ) if the amount of the deduction or payment is greater than the amount referred to in paragraph        (a), twice the former amount.

(2) (a) An  adjudication officer shall not give a decision referred to in subsection (1) in relation to a deduction or payment referred to in that subsection at any time after the commencement of the hearing of proceedings in a court brought by the employee concerned in respect of the deduction or payment.

(b) An employee shall not be entitled to recover any amount in proceedings in a court in respect of such a deduction or payment as aforesaid at any time after an adjudication officer has given a decision referred to in subsection (1) in relation to the deduction or payment.

In the circumstances of this case, the Complainant is entitled to payment for three days of employment, despite the reservations expressed by the Respondent Company in light of the alleged conduct of the Complainant.

I direct the Respondent to pay the Complainant €328.35 which equates to three days of employment.

I find that the Complaint (CA-00028618-002) made pursuant to Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 is well founded and direct the Respondent to pay the Complainant €328.35.

Complaint (CA-00028618-003) is withdrawn.

Wages