Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

Assistant site manager

Construction company

Representatives

Unite

Self

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-00035525-001

31/03/2020

The complaint related to wages deducted for days the Complainant attended at a college course.

The Complainant started working for the Respondent as a site clerk in April 2019.

He was doing a site management course at a technology course in Dublin. This involved attending at the course each Thursday.

He was paid for attending at the course. This continued from the start of his employment until end of February 2020.

In that monthly payroll the days he attended on the course were deducted.

This was confirmed in an email from the Respondent.

The Complainant resigned from his employment at that stage.

He disputed that he received a copy of the Staff Handbook.

The Respondent explained that the Complainant sought to do the course. It did not require him to attend on the course.

It gave the Complainant a substantial pay increase in November 2019. The Complainant’s salary increased from €28,000.00 to €40,000.00.

The Complainant sought to reduce his hours (attending the course) while on this increased pay.

The Respondent had a policy as regards deductions for courses. This was in the Staff Handbook.

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 sets out

Regulation of certain deductions made and payments received by employers

(1) 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

In Ryanair Ltd v Downey PW 6/2005 (reported at [2006] E.L.R. 347), the Employment Appeals Tribunal held that the fact that a clause in the employee's contract provided for a deduction did not of itself justify the deduction. For the deduction to be lawful, the employer must comply with the relevant provisions of subs.(2), in that case the giving of one week's notice before making the deduction and complying with the requirement that the amount of the deduction be fair and reasonable.

In this case there was no notice of the deduction.   The deduction was made by the Respondent. It was the Complainant that queried the Respondent about same.

The complaint is well founded. I award the Complainant €615.38 which is a gross payment and is subject to payroll deductions.

Unlawful deduction from salary. Failure to give notice. Section 5 Payment of Wages Act 1991.