Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A General Operative

A Maintenance 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-00030926-001

16/09/2019

The complainant was employed by the respondent as a General Operative from 21st June 2019 until 4th September 2019. The complaint was submitted to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on 16th September 2019 and relates to an alleged breach of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991.

Note: The complainant’s father attended the adjudication hearing to support his Son. On entering the hearing room, the respondent objected to the presence of the complainant’s father. The respondent stated that he had attended the previous day in error and demanded an adjournment so that the complainant’s Supervisor could attend a rescheduled hearing at some future date. Before the adjudication process could be explained to the respondent, he stated that he was leaving the hearing and submitted a document. The respondent was asked to remain at the adjudication hearing to allow the inquiry to take place. The respondent refused and left.

The complainant outlined that he had resigned from his employment on or about the 4th September 2019 after being mistreated by his employer on numerous occasions. The complainant stated that he was paid €90 gross per day (including €10 travel time) and was not paid for 29th August 2019, 30th August 2019 and 4th September 2019. The complainant is seeking that he be paid €270 for the three days in question.

The respondent submitted a document outlining that there were no outstanding wages due to the complainant because he had worked only a short number of hours for the days in question and had previously been fully paid for a week of Annual Leave that he had not yet accrued. The respondent also outlined that the complainant had in fact been overpaid at the beginning of the employment rather than being placed on emergency tax at that time.

It is regrettable that the respondent left the adjudication hearing. Had the respondent remained at the hearing as requested it would have been possible to conduct a thorough inquiry into the complaint. It would also have been clarified to the respondent that it was not necessary to adjourn the adjudication hearing to a later date as the evidence of the complainant’s supervisor would not have been required to establish if the outstanding payments in question were actually due to the complainant.

The Applicable Law

Section 5(6) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 states as follows:

6) Where—

(a) the total amount of any wages that are paid on any occasion by an employer to an employee is less than the total amount of wages that is properly payable by him to the employee on that occasion (after making any deductions therefrom that fall to be made and are in accordance with this Act), or

(b) none of the wages that are properly payable to an employee by an employer on any occasion (after making any such deductions as aforesaid) are paid to the employee,

then, except in so far as the deficiency or non-payment is attributable to an error of computation, the amount of the deficiency or non-payment shall be treated as a deduction made by the employer from the wages of the employee on the occasion.

In the instant case, the daily rate of €90 was agreed by both sides and was not paid to the complainant for the three days in question. The fact that the respondent overpaid the complainant at the beginning of his employment rather than place him on emergency tax as well as paying him for holidays he had not yet accrued, does not in my view relieve the respondent of its obligation to pay the complainant wages that are properly payable to him. Having considered the matter I am satisfied that the complaint is well founded.

Having considered the submissions of the parties, I find that the complaint is well founded. The respondent is directed to pay the complainant €270 in respect of outstanding wages.

Unlawful deductions