ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION/RECOMMENDATION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00023675
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Apprentice Electrician | Electrical |
Representatives |
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Complaint(s):
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-00030220-001 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 | CA-00030220-002 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00030220-003 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00030220-004 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00030222-001 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 | CA-00030222-002 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00030222-003 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00030222-004 | 13/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00030238-001 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 | CA-00030238-002 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00030238-003 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00030238-004 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00030239-001 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 | CA-00030239-002 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00030239-003 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00030239-004 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00030240-001 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 | CA-00030240-002 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under the Industrial Relations Acts | CA-00030240-003 | 14/08/2019 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00030240-004 | 14/08/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 22/11/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Davnet O'Driscoll
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts 1969following the referral of the complaints and disputes to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and disputes and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints and disputes.
Background:
The Complainant was employed with the Respondent from 9th July 2019 to 6th August 2019 as an Apprentice Electrician. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00030220-001 The Complainant complains €313.60 was deducted unlawfully from his wages on 9th August 2019. He was paid apprentice rate of €6.81 not €9.80. He received no wages for week 9th August 2019 as his employer said he topped up his wages. CA-00030220-002 The Complainant did not receive the national minimum wage for his weekly pay. No statement was furnished by his employer. He was not registered as an apprentice electrician and is owed 105.7 hours of a shortfall of 2.99 euro and 43.5 hours of €9.80. CA-00030220-003 The Complainant complains he was unfairly dismissed on 6th August 2019. A grinder went missing on 1st August 2019 and it was his job to pack up the tools every evening. The Complainant said it was missing before he packed up the tools. The foreman wanted the Complainant to pay 500 euro for the grinder and pay it out of his wages weekly. The Complainant refused as he did not steal this. He felt threatened. The foreman told the owner what happened and the Complainant was blamed. He was fired. The owner told the foreman if the Complainant would not pay for it to send him home. The owner would not take the Complainant’s calls and texted him to say if he is not paying for it he must leave. The Complainant asked for his P45 and left the site. The foreman told him not to make an unfair dismissal claim. Then the Complainant was told by the Respondent to work on another site. CA-00030220-004 The Complainant did not receive a statement in writing of his terms of employment. CA-00030222-001, to CA-00030222-004, CA-00030238-001 to CA-00030238-004, CA-00030239-001 to CA-00030239-004, CA-00030240-001 to CA-00030240-004 These are duplicate complaints and are withdrawn. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
CA-00030220-001 The Respondent denies the complaints and produced evidence to verify the Complainant was paid €650.24 for all hours worked which includes holidays at €7 per hour. CA-00030220-002 The Respondent says the Complainant was paid apprentice rates for the hours worked. The forms to register him as an apprentice were signed and left on site for him. The Complainant can do register with Solas. The Complainant was registered as an apprentice on 6th August 2019. CA-00030220-003 The Respondent denies the Complainant was unfairly dismissed. Submissions were made that the foreman did not accuse the Complainant of taking the grinder or shouting at him. The grinder disappeared on 1st August 2019 from the site, the foreman said the Complainant would not take responsibility for the missing grinder and agree to pay this over a number of months. The Complainant was told the owner would be annoyed as the grinder is expensive to replace. The foreman says the Complainant threatened to go to Court. The Complainant was offered a position on the other site to start the following day 7th August 2019. Another witness said the Complainant declined the job as he got another one. He did not want to go into work in the city. The foreman said the office was cleared out. He offered to look for the Solas form, but the Complainant declined. CA-00030220-004 The Complainant was not given a written contract as he was taken on a trial basis as an apprentice and did not work a month. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00030220-001 I have carefully considered the submissions of the parties. The Complainant complains that he was not paid wages for week of 9th August 2019. Evidence was produced by the Respondent to show payment for all hours worked at €7 per hour which the Complainant accepts. The Complainant was registered as an apprentice on 6th August 2019. This complaint is not well founded. CA-00030220-002 The Complainant complains that he was not paid minimum wage for the time worked. The Respondent signed the forms for registration as an apprentice and left these for the Complainant to send to Solas. The Respondent produced evidence the Complainant was registered as an apprentice electrician on 6th August 2019. This complaint is not well founded. CA-00030220-003 This complaint is made under S13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969. The Complainant was employed with the Respondent for 3 and a half weeks. He was responsible for putting the tools away. A dispute arose regarding a missing tool and the Complainant felt pressurised to pay for the tool by the foreman and refused to do so. The Complainant was not given a written statement of his terms and conditions with details of a disciplinary and grievance procedure used by the Respondent. The owner became aware of the dispute. The owner did not utilise the disciplinary or grievance procedure in dealing with the dispute. Text evidence was produced to show the owner told the Complainant he could leave or go work on another site in town. Fair procedures apply in this situation and SI 146 of 2000. A formal disciplinary process should be utilised by the Respondent in order to notify the Complainant about the dispute in advance, allow the Complainant to obtain representation, and deal with the dispute in accordance with a disciplinary procedure. There was no engagement by the Respondent with the Complainant on the dispute. In all the circumstances, I find the Complainant was unfairly dismissed. The Complainant found alternative employment immediately. I recommend payment by the Respondent to the Complainant of two weeks wages of €490. CA-00030220-004 Section 2 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 provides that the Act does not apply to employment in which the employee has been in the continuous service of the employer for less than one month. The Complainant was employed for three and a half weeks only. The complaint is not well founded. |
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.
Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1969 requires that I make a recommendation in relation to the dispute.
CA-00030220-001 The complaint is not well founded. CA-00030220-002 The complaint is not well founded. CA-00030220-003 The Complainant was unfairly dismissed, pursuant to S13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969, I recommend payment by the Respondent to the Complainant of two weeks wages of €490. CA-00030220-004 The complaint is not well founded. CA-00030222-001, to CA-00030222-004, CA-00030238-001 to CA-00030238-004, CA-00030239-001 to CA-00030239-004, CA-00030240-001 to CA-00030240-004 These are duplicate complaints and are withdrawn. |
Dated: 25/08/2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Davnet O'Driscoll
Key Words:
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