ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00028564
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | Compliance Executive | Produce Growers |
Representatives | none | Tom Summerville, Miriam Williams |
Complaint:
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-00036614-001 | 10/06/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 08/03/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.
Background:
The Complainant was employed as a Compliance Executive from 13th May 2019 to 21st February 2020. He was paid a salary of €32,000 per annum. He has claimed that he was entitled to a bonus of €1,500 and only received €500, he is owed €1,000. The Respondent company has rejected this claim. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant stated that at interview he was promised a bonus of €1,500. He received €500 at Christmas in vouchers. There was no reference to a bonus in the contract that he accepted. He did not query this and he puts it down to naivety on his part. He had an appraisal review on 5th February 2020 and he was advised that he would receive the remainder of the bonus, €1,000, and going forward his bonus would be paid monthly due to the level of his salary. He stated that discretion was never raised by his employer. He did state that at his initial interview performance was raised in connection with his bonus. All non-compliance issues were eliminated. He is seeking €1,000 or perhaps €750 pro rata as he worked less than 12 months with the company. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent stated that the Complainant was initially employed on a 6-month probation. A bonus was not discussed at the interview. There is no reference to a bonus entitlement in the contract of employment. The Complainant was not entitled to a bonus. Bonuses are paid to a very limited number of management grades and is subject to the achievement of KPIs and company performance. Because it is linked to company performance, it is discretionary. The Complainant received a €500 in vouchers at Christmas as did all employees. The Complainant was not entitled to a bonus. A bonus was never discussed with him and they are at a loss as to where this claim is coming from. This claim is rejected. |
Findings and Conclusions:
I note the conflict of evidence in this case. I find that there was no reference to a bonus in the written contract of employment. I find that the Complainant did not raise any query with the Respondent concerning no reference to a bonus in the contract. I find that he accepted the contract of employment. I find that the Complainant was unclear about the bonus and the entitlement to a bonus. He was claiming a full bonus but only worked 9 months with this company. I find that he was unclear if there were criteria attached to the achievement of the bonus other than it was performance related. He was unsure if it was personal and /or company related performance. I find that in order to succeed with a claim under the Payment of Wages Act the Complainant must establish a contractual entitlement to the monies claimed. These wages/salary/bonus that is claimed, must be “properly payable”. I find that the Complainant has not established a contractual entitlement to the monies claimed. I find that the Complainant was unclear about the circumstances of this claim. I find that this claim is not well founded.
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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.
For the above stated reasons, I have decided that this complaint is not well founded and so it fails.
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Dated: 23rd April 2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Eugene Hanly
Key Words:
Entitlement to a bonus payment |