ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00031841
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Adrian Dima | Christopher Byrne T/A Kaztrans Ltd |
Representatives | Self | No attendance |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00042052-001 | 19/01/2021 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 04/02/2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Janet Hughes
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. The Respondent was notified of the hearing at the email address provided. Following the hearing I was notified that a request for a postponement was submitted by the Respondent on 02.02.2022 at 22.06-well outside office hours. That request was not reviewed by the administration staff until the 04.02.2022 and brought to my attention at 13.44. The hearing was scheduled for 10am that morning. As the hearing was properly convened, a decision will issue on the basis of the evidence of the Complainant noting that the Respondent made his application on grounds the notice was in his junk folder and secondly was that he was too busy to attend on the scheduled date. Given that the Complainant conducted the hearing from his truck it is reasonable to conclude that he too was busy. Being too busy to attend a matter concerned with statutory rights is not reasonable grounds for a decision to set aside the hearing and rearrange it for another date. The Respondent is entitled to appeal the decision if he wishes to do so, noting also that this complaint was first notified to the Respondent almost a year previously and he had not contacted the WRC at any stage in the succeeding twelve months to provide any basis on which he was refusing to make the statutory payment.
Background:
The complaint is concerned with non-payment of holiday pay on termination of employment. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant gave evidence that he was employed as a driver from 25 June 2020 until 18 December 2020. The rate of pay was €2614 gross and €2200 nett per month. On any occasion when he received a payslip Christopher Byrne was named as the employer. When payment was made by a bank transfer-it was in the name of Kaztrans. The agreement was for a six-month contract and to see after that. Towards the end of the contract there were days when there was no work and no pay. The contract then ended after the agreed six months. He contacted the Respondent by email and calls about this holiday but received no reply and no holiday pay. During the period of six months he received no paid holidays. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent did not attend the hearing and provided no evidence or other information to refute the complaint. |
Findings:
Based on his own uncontested evidence, the Complainant has a valid complaint for non-payment of holiday pay during or on termination of his employment. The amount due to him is calculated at 10 days based on his hours worked and the duration of the employment relationship. This amounts to €1307 based on half of his nett monthly pay of €2614. Given that he waited for over twelve months for payment and his evidence of the failure of the Respondent to engage with him at any stage, compensation is considered appropriate. He is to receive an additional award of €250 in compensation bringing the total to €1557. |
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.
CA-00042052-001 Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 as amended. The Complaint of Adrian Dima against the Respondent Christopher Byrne /T/A Kaztrans is well founded. The Respondent is to pay the Complainant €1557 in compensation. |
Dated: 22/02/2022
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Janet Hughes
Key Words:
Holiday pay on termination of employment |