ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00028077
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Alen Brajkovic | JJC Contracting Limited |
Representatives | Not represented | Not represented |
Complaints:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00035927-001 Withdrawn | 29/04/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00036089-001 | 10/05/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 09/04/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
These complaints were submitted to the WRC on April 29th 2020 and, in accordance with section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, they were assigned to me by the Director General. Due to the closure of the WRC as a result of the Covid-10 pandemic, a hearing was delayed until April 9th 2021. On that date, I conducted a remote hearing, in accordance with the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and Statutory Instrument 359/2020 which designates the Workplace Relations Commission as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. At the hearing, I gave the parties an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence relevant to the complaints.
Two complaints are listed above under the Payment of Wages Act 1991. The complainant submitted a second complaint form when he was requested by the WRC to provide details of the amount he claims he was not paid. The two complaint forms are concerned with the same complaint and for this reason, at the opening of the hearing, the complainant withdrew the first complaint listed above, CA-00035927-001.
Background:
The complainant is a dry-wall installer and he joined the respondent’s construction company on January 28th 2020. He was on an hourly rate of €18.00 and he was paid every fortnight. He said that he worked 39 hours every week, with some overtime. The complainant’s employment was terminated on March 13th 2020. His complaint is that he was not paid for working on February 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th and that he was not paid for the public holiday on Saint Patrick’s Day. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
Complaint about Non-payment of Wages The complainant started work on Tuesday, January 28th 2020, and he worked four days that week. On February 7th, he was paid €558 gross, for working 31 hours from Tuesday, January 28th to Friday, January 31st. His complaint arises from a perception that he was not paid for the following week, Monday, February 3rd to Friday, February 7th. Complaint about Non-payment of Public Holiday Pay The complainant alleges that he was not paid for the public holiday that fell on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17th 2020. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
Complaint about Non-payment of Wages The accounts manager produced copies of the complainant’s payslips at the hearing and these show the following fortnightly payments paid every second Friday: February 7th 2020: €558 in respect of 31 hours from Tuesday, January 28th to Friday, 31st. February 21st 2020: €1,440 in respect of 80 hours from Monday, February 3rd to Friday, 14th. March 6th 2020: €1,584 in respect of 88 hours from Monday, February 17th to Friday, 28th. March 20th 2020: €1,548 in respect of 86 hours from Monday, March 2nd to Friday, 13th. The complainant’s last day at work was March 13th 2020. It is the respondent’s case that the complainant was paid seven week’s pay for the seven weeks that he worked between January 28th and March 13th 2020. Complaint about Non-payment of Public Holiday Pay Based on an entitlement to 20 days’ holidays a year, after seven weeks, the complainant was entitled to 2.7 days’ holidays and one day in respect of the public holiday that fell on March 17th. The accounts manager produced payslips that show that the complainant was paid €396 gross on April 3rd 2020, in respect of 22 hours’ holidays. She calculated that the complainant was paid for four days’ holidays, including the public holiday on March 17th. |
Findings and Conclusions:
Complaint about Non-payment of Wages Having examined the evidence in the payslips produced by the respondent at the hearing of this complaint, I am satisfied that, on February 21st 2020, the complainant was paid for the hours that he worked between Monday, February 3rd and Friday, February 7th. I am also satisfied that he was paid for seven weeks less one day, and that this is what he worked between January 28th and March 13th 2020. I find that there was no deduction from the complainant’s wages during the seven weeks that he worked for the respondent. Complaint about Non-payment of Public Holiday Pay Having examined the payslip that the complainant was issued on April 3rd 2020, I note that he was paid €396 in respect of 22 hours’ holidays. At the hearing, the accounts manager said that she calculated that, having worked for seven weeks, the complainant was entitled to pay for 2.25 days’ holidays. If he was paid for 22 hours, it would appear that he was paid for three days’ holidays. I calculate however, that, based on a statutory entitlement to 20 days’ holidays a year, after working for seven weeks, the complainant was entitled to 2.7 days’ holidays. While he was paid for three days, which is slightly more than what he was entitled to in respect of holidays, it would appear that he was not paid for the public holiday that fell on March 17th. As he had worked for his employer in the four weeks preceding the public holiday, he is entitled to pay for that day. |
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.
Having concluded that the complainant was not paid wages in respect of his entitlement to pay for the public holiday that fell on March 17th 2020, I decide that the respondent is to pay him compensation of €144, equivalent to one day’s pay. |
Dated: 25th of June 2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
Public holiday pay |