Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

A Kitchen Porter

A Restaurant

Representatives

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-00031685-001

20/10/2019

The complainant detailed that he is owed monies for pay and annual leave from the respondent.

The complainant detailed that he owed monies regarding hours worked as well as annual leave.   Despite numerous requests to the respondent, they have failed to pay him his monies owed

Evidence was provided which outlined the hours he worked totalling 270 hours, some of which the complainant received payment for. The complainant detailed that he commenced work on 21st July 2019 and ceased work on 25th September 2019 at the rate of €9.85. He received €1,595.76 but is still owed wages totalling €1,063.74.

The complainant outlined that he did not receive any annual leave during that time and is owed €212.76.

The respondent did not attend. Contact was made with the respondent the day before the hearing by the WRC and the respondent advised that they did not have correspondence in relation to the complaint. A copy of all correspondence was sent to the respondent. I confirmed that a letter had issued notifying the Respondent of the date, time and location of the hearing.

The complainant detailed that he is owed outstanding pay and annual leave. The respondent did not attend on the day.

Section 5 (1) details that “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,

unless—

(i) the deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a term (whether express or implied and, if express, whether oral or in writing) of the contract of employment made between the employer and the employee, and

(ii) the deduction is of an amount that is fair and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances (including the amount of the wages of the employee), and

(iii) before the time of the act or omission or the provision of the goods or services, the employee has been furnished with—

(I) in case the term referred to in subparagraph (i) is in writing, a copy thereof,

(II) in any other case, notice in writing of the existence and effect of the term,

and

(iv) in case the deduction is in respect of an act or omission of the employee, the employee has been furnished, at least one week before the making of the deduction, with particulars in writing of the act or omission and the amount of the deduction, and

(v) in case the deduction is in respect of compensation for loss or damage sustained by the employer as a result of an act or omission of the employee, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the amount of the loss or the cost of the damage, and

(vi) in case the deduction is in respect of goods or services supplied or provided as aforesaid, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the cost to the employer of the goods or services, and

(vii) the deduction or, if the total amount payable to the employer by the employee in respect of the act or omission or the goods or services is to be so paid by means of more than one deduction from the wages of the employee, the first such deduction is made not later than 6 months after the act or omission becomes known to the employer or, as the case may be, after the provision of the goods or services.”

Having reviewed the evidence I find that the complainant made a slight error in his calculations and worked 270 hours, and not 288 hours which the complainant accepted. I find the complainant a very credible witness and that his claim is well founded and that the complainant is owed wages totalling €1,063.74, and annual leave totalling €212.76 with the total amount proper payable during the cognisable period totalling €1,276.50 gross.

I declare that the complaint is well founded and that €1,276.50 gross is properly payable to the complainant during the cognisable period.

Payment of wages, respondent did not attend