ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00029217
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Valentine Onukwili | European Water Technology |
Representatives | In person | Peninsula Business Services Limited |
Complaints:
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-00038951-001 | 29/07/2020 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00038951-003 | 29/07/2020 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 22/06/2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaints and dispute to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and dispute and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints and dispute. The hearing was held remotely using the Webex platform and there were no technical difficulties experienced by either party.
Background:
The complainant was employed by the respondent with effect from 24th September 2019. He has not been employed by the respondent since on or about 16th March 2020. The complainant submitted two complaints relating to alleged breaches of his employment rights under the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 and the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. The substance of the issues raised in this complaint is that the employer did not pay him a week’s wages that he was due, failed to provide the complainant with the correct annual leave entitlements when his employment ended and did not provide the complainant with the correct public holiday entitlements. |
Employment Rights Complaint: CA00038951-001
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00038951-001 – Payment of Wages Act, 1991. The complainant states that he was not paid a week’s wages that he was owed and did not receive the appropriate annual leave entitlements when his employment ended. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
CA-00038951-001 – Payment of Wages Act, 1991. The respondent stated that the complainant received his correct entitlements in respect of annual leave and outstanding wages on 26th August 2020. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00038951-001 – Payment of Wages Act, 1991. The documents submitted in relation to this complaint include an email sent to the complainant from the HR Manager on 20th August 2020 at 12.06pm confirming that he would be paid one week’s pay on 26th August 2020 as well as his outstanding annual leave entitlements. A payslip also included in the documentation showed that the complainant was paid for one week and also received 80 hours of annual leave on that date. These payments, although paid late to the complainant, appear to discharge the employer’s obligations in relation to the complainant’s final week’s pay and his outstanding annual leave entitlements. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
CA-00038951-001 – Payment of Wages Act, 1991. On the basis that the complainant was paid his outstanding week’s wages and all annual leave entitlements were discharged to him on or about 26th August 2020, I find that the complaint is not well founded. |
Employment Rights Complaint: CA-00038951-003
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00038951-003 – Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. The complainant states that he was not paid the correct annual leave entitlements and that the respondent also failed to pay him the correct entitlements in respect of Public Holidays. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
CA-00038951-003 – Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. The respondent did not put forward any evidence that the complainant received the correct Public Holiday entitlements in line with the provisions of the legislation. |
Findings and Conclusions:
CA-00038951-003 – Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. The payment of the complainant’s outstanding annual leave entitlements has been addressed in CA-00038951-001 above. The outstanding issue relates to Public Holiday entitlements. The complainant states that he was not paid the correct Public Holidays while in the employment of the respondent. As the complaint was submitted to the Workplace Relations Commission on 29th July 2020, the cognisable period of the complaint in respect of Public Holidays is therefore from 30th January 2020 to 29th July 2020. Within that timeframe there were four Public Holidays: 17/3/2020, 13/4/2020, 4/5/2020 and 1/6/2020. Between March 2020 and July 2020, the complainant was in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) which maintained employment relationships while employees were unable to attend work for varying reasons during the Covid 19 restrictions. In my view the period of time between March and July 2020 is analogous to a temporary layoff where the complainant would retain his entitlements to Public Holidays for the first 13 weeks. On that basis I find that the complainant is entitled to payment for the four Public Holidays in question as they all occurred within the first 13 weeks of his lay off. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
CA-00038951-003 – Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. I find that the complaint is well founded. The respondent is directed to pay the complainant 4 days’ pay in respect of Public Holiday entitlements. In addition, the respondent is directed to pay the complainant €200.00 in compensation for the infringement of his employment rights. |
Dated: 29th September 2021
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Key Words:
Unfair Dismissal – Industrial Relations Act, Annual Leave entitlements, Public Holiday entitlements |