ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00018293
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | An Events Executive | A Hotel |
Representatives | SIPTU | Mr. Michael McNamee B.L. on the instructions of DAS Group |
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-00019858-001 | 18/05/2018 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00019858-002 | 18/05/2018 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969 | CA-00019858-003 | 18/05/2018 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/01/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Enda Murphy
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969 following the referral of the complaints/dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints/dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints/dispute.
Background:
The Complainant was employed by the Respondent as an Events Executive. The Complainant claims that the Respondent made unlawful deductions from her wages contrary to Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991. The Complainant claims that the Respondent contravened the provisions of Section 12 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 in relation to her rest breaks. The Complainant has also sought to have a trade dispute adjudicated upon in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969. The Respondent disputes all of the claims referred by the Complainant. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant failed to attend the Hearing to adduce evidence in support of her complaint. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent and its legal representative were in attendance at the hearing. |
Findings and Conclusions:
A complaint was received by the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission from the Complainant on 18 May, 2018 alleging that her employer had made unlawful deductions from her wages contrary to Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 and has contravened the provisions of Section 12 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 in relation to her rest breaks. The Complainant also referred a trade dispute for adjudication in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1969. The said complaints and dispute were referred to me for investigation. A hearing for that purpose was held on 9 January 2020. There was no appearance by the Complainant at the hearing. The Complainant’s representative who was in attendance at the hearing confirmed that notification of the hearing had been communicated to her. In the circumstances, I am satisfied that the said Complainant was informed in writing of the date, time and place at which the hearing to investigate the complaint would be held. |
Decision:
CA-00019858-001 and CA-00019858-002 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. Having regard to the above circumstances and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary having been adduced before me, I must conclude that the within complaints under the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 and the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 are not well-founded and I decide accordingly. CA-00019858-003 Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute. Having regard to the above circumstances, I do not make any recommendation in the Complainant’s favour. |
Dated: 12-08-2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Enda Murphy
Key Words:
Payment of Wages Act, 1991 – Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 - Failure to attend hearing – Complaints not well-founded |