ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00021902
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | A HGV Driver | A Transport Company |
Representatives | In person | Did not attend |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00028781-001 | 30/05/2019 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 16/09/2019
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I was available to inquire into the complaint and give the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint. Both parties were notified of the date, time and venue of the adjudication hearing. The complainant was in attendance. The respondent did not attend and was not represented.
Background:
The complainant was employed by the respondent as a HGV Driver employed in the evenings and at weekends since 2010. The complainant earned €5178.17 in 2018 and worked for the respondent until July 2018. The complaint was submitted to the Workplace Relations Commission on 30th May 2019 and relates to outstanding Annual Leave and Public Holiday entitlements. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The complainant stated that he did not receive the appropriate Annual Leave and Public Holiday entitlements for the duration of his employment with the respondent. The complainant submits that he has an outstanding entitlement in respect of Public Holidays of €2,014.40 in total from 2010-2018. In respect of annual leave entitlements, the complainant stated that from 2010-2018 he earned a total of €59,094.50. The complainant acknowledged that he received €659.65 in respect of annual leave entitlements for 2017/2018. The complainant contends that the outstanding entitlement is €4,067.91 (€59,094.50 x 8% - €659.65) and he is seeking payment in that amount. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent did not attend the adjudication hearing and was not represented. |
Findings and Conclusions:
Time limits Section 41(6) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 provides as follows: “(6) Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates.”
Cognisable period of the complaint The cognisable period of the complaint is from 30th November 2018 to 30th May 2019. The complainant outlined in his complaint form that although he ceased to be an employee of the respondent in March 2019, he was last employed in July 2018 which is outside the cognisable period of the complaint. Accordingly, the complainant did not accrue any Public Holiday entitlement within the 6-month period prior to referring his complaint to the WRC. Accordingly, the complaint in relation to Public Holidays is not well founded. In relation to Annual Leave entitlements, the cognisable period of the complaint (30th November 2018 to 30th May 2019) encompasses the 2018-2019 annual leave year which means the entirety of the annual leave for 2018-2019 can be considered. The complainant acknowledged that he received €659.65 in respect of outstanding annual leave entitlements for 2017/2018. As regards the 2018/2019 leave year the complainant was employed 20 hours per week from April 2018 until July 2018. Accordingly, he would have accrued only one third of his yearly annual leave entitlement in that four-month period. Based on working 80 hours per month for four months, the complainant accrued annual leave entitlements of 25.6 hours. (320 hours x 8%). On the WRC complaint from the complainant stated that he was paid €780 gross per month which equated to €9.75 per hour. Accordingly, the complainant is entitled to €249.60 (25.6 hours x €9.75 per hour) in respect of outstanding annual leave entitlements for the 2018/2019 leave year. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
The complaint is well founded in part. The respondent is directed to pay the complainant €249.60 in respect of annual leave entitlements for the 2018/2019 annual leave year. |
Dated: 9th January 2020
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Key Words:
Public Holiday entitlements, Annual Leave entitlements |