Complainant

Respondent

Parties

David Richard  Efekodo

Invictus Event Management and Consultancy Ltd

Representatives

  Self

 No Show

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-00057303-001

22/06/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00057303-002

22/06/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

CA-00057303-003

22/06/2023

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994

CA-00057303-004

22/06/2023

The Complainant is a lay litigant and unfamiliar with the specifics on Labour Law. However, he stated that his claim relates to the following:

1.       Unfairly Dismissed

2.       Failure to provide notice of termination

3.       Failure to provide required information about his terms and conditions of employment.

4.       Withholding wages until a Security Uniform was returned.

Allowing for this the following complaints are withdrawn by the Complainant as they were ticked in error or duplicated:

Withdrawn Complaints

Complaint Area:

1.       Terms and Conditions of Employment CA-00057303-05

2.       Terms and Conditions of Employment CA-00057303-06

3.       Terms and Conditions of Employment CA-00057303-07

4.       Minimum Notice CA-00057303-009 (as the same complaint brought under Pay)

5.       Minimum Notice CA-00057303-010 (as the same complaint brought under Pay)

6.       Minimum Notice CA-00057303-011 (as the same complaint brought under Pay)

7.       Fixed Term and Part Time Work CA-00057303-012

8.       Fixed Term and Part Time Work CA-00057303-013

9.       Fixed Term and Part Time Work CA-00057303-014

The Complainant was not on a Fixed Term contract and the grievance relates to being unfairly let go, not receiving notice and not provided with information about his terms and conditions of employment as provided for under law.

The Respondent failed to attend at the hearing.

On the 14th of November 2023 the following was received from the Respondent.

From: Darren Service

Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 5:53 PM

To: WRC Submissions <submissions@workplacerelations.ie>

Subject: CA-00057303

To whom it may concern,

I would like to follow up to on our previous phone call yesterday.

I would like to apologise again for missing the meeting due to unforeseen personal circumstances.

I was wondering if there would be any way of rescheduling the meeting. I understand if it can’t be done as I missed it but would like to proceed with the process.

Thanks,

Darren

I am satisfied that the Respondent was notified of the place, time and venue of the hearing.

The payslips show that the Respondent is Invictus Event Management and Consultancy Ltd.

The Complainant wrote to the Respondent on the 22nd of May 2023 and stated that his last day of working was the 27th of March 2023. At the hearing he stated that he had worked for at least 13 consecutive weeks.

The Complainant stated that he commenced employment on or about mid October 2022. However, his employment was continuous from about mid-December 2022.

The Company made an unlawful deduction amounting to €198.82 for a Uniform that he already had paid for. That money was returned when he gave back the Uniform.

The Complainant provided the following payslips:

1.       Period 14 pay date 7th of April 2023

2.       Period 12 pay date 24th of March 2023

3.       Period 11 pay date 17th of March 2023

4.       Period 10 pay date 10th of March 2023

5.       Period 5 pay date 3rd of March 2023

6.       Period 4 pay date 27th of March 2023

7.       Period 3 pay date 20th of January 2023

8.       Period 2 pay date 13th of January 2023

9.       Period 50 pay date 15th of December 2022.

On the payslip dated 7th of April 2023 the payslip states that the Complainant has 13 insurable weeks.

The Complainant stated that he was given notice after his employment was terminated on the 24th of April 2023. His termination letter stated there was no work for him.

The Respondent failed to attend at the hearing.

I am satisfied that the Respondent was notified of the time, date and place of the hearing.

Minimum Notice

On the evidence of the Complainant, I am satisfied that he received no notice and the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 as amended provides for:

Minimum period of notice.

4.—(1) An employer shall, in order to terminate the contract of employment of an employee who has been in his continuous service for a period of thirteen weeks or more, give to that employee a minimum period of notice calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.

(2) The minimum notice to be given by an employer to terminate the contract of employment of his employee shall be—

(a) if the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for less than two years, one week,

one week’s notice where the Complainant has 13 weeks of continuous service. On the evidence presented to this tribunal the Complainant is entitled to 1 week’s notice.

The Payment of Wages Act 1991 defines wages as:

wages", in relation to an employee, means any sums payable to the employee by the employer in connection with his employment, including—

(a) any fee, bonus or commission, or any holiday, sick or maternity pay, or any other emolument, referable to his employment, whether payable under his contract of employment or otherwise, and

(b) any sum payable to the employee upon the termination by the employer of his contract of employment without his having given to the employee the appropriate prior notice of the termination, being a sum paid in lieu of the giving of such notice:

Unlawful Deduction Uniform:

The Complainant stated that his employer initially deducted €198.82 from his wages until he gave back his uniform and that he was deducted €5 from his wages to pay for the uniform. On payslip 5 pay date 3rd of February 2022, there is a deduction of €5. A question arises was this a term of the contract? The Complainant stated that there was no written contract. The Payment of Wages Act provides that:

5.—(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

(v) in case the deduction is in respect of compensation for loss or damage sustained by the employer as a result of an act or omission of the employee, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the amount of the loss or the cost of the damage, and

In the absence of the Respondent detailing and providing that permission was provided either by written consent or arising from a term of the contract, a deduction for the uniform would be unlawful. However, the amount detailed as a loss was paid back that is €198. The deduction of €5 is detailed in 5 payslips and amounts to €25. On the evidence that money was unlawfully deducted.

Failure to provide information about terms and conditions:

The Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 as amended relates to the fact that it is alleged that no written information about terms have been given to the Complainant as required by the Act. The Act requires that:

Written statement of terms of employment.

3.—(1) An employer shall, not later than one month after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say—

[And ]

(1A) Without prejudice to subsection (1), an employer shall, not later than 5 days after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say:

(a) the full names of the employer and the employee;

(b) the address of the employer in the State or, where appropriate, the address of the principal place of the relevant business of the employer in the State or the registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act 2014);

(c) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the expected duration thereof or, if the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the date on which the contract expires;

(d) the remuneration, including the initial basic amount, any other component elements, if applicable, indicated separately, the frequency and method of payment of the remuneration to which the employee is entitled and the pay reference period for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000;

(e) the number of hours which the employer reasonably expects the employee to work—

(i) per normal working day, and

(ii) per normal working week;

On the evidence of the Complainant these provisions have not been complied with.

 CA-00057303-001 Payment of Wages Act and Notice

I determine that the complaint is well founded.

On the evidence of the Complainant, I am satisfied that he received no notice and the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 as amended.

On payslip 14 the data states that the Complainant had earned €5057 for 13 insurable weeks. This equates to €389 gross per week. I award the Complainant 1 week’s gross pay amounting to €389 less any statutory deductions an amount that was not paid and was properly payable to him as provided by section 5(6) of the Act:

6) Where—

(a) the total amount of any wages that are paid on any occasion by an employer to an employee is less than the total amount of wages that is properly payable by him to the employee on that occasion (after making any deductions therefrom that fall to be made and are in accordance with this Act), or

CA-00057303-002 Payment of Wages Act and Notice and Uniform Deductions

I determine the complaint to be well founded.

On the evidence before me I award the Complainant €25 gross less any statutory deductions arising from the unlawful deduction of €5 euro for each pay period based on 5 payslips opened to the tribunal where this deduction was made without the contractual right to do so and €25 being  an amount that was not paid and was properly payable to him as provided by section 5(6) of the Act:

6) Where—

(a) the total amount of any wages that are paid on any occasion by an employer to an employee is less than the total amount of wages that is properly payable by him to the employee on that occasion (after making any deductions therefrom that fall to be made and are in accordance with this Act), or

CA-00057303-003 Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 Breach after 1 month:

As the information as required to be provided after 1 month has not been provided, I determine this complaint to be well founded and I award the complainant 2 weeks remuneration pursuant to the Act an amount I determine to be €389 x 2=€778 as a reasonable and fair based on his short service.

d) in relation to a complaint of a contravention under change section 3, 4, 5, 6, 6D, 6E, 6F, or 6G, and without prejudice to any order made under paragraph (e) order the employer to pay to the employee compensation of such amount (if any) as the adjudication officer considers just and equitable having regard to all of the circumstances, but not exceeding 4 weeks’ remuneration in respect of the employee’s employment calculated in accordance with regulations under section 17 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.

CA-00057303-003 Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 Breach after 5 days:

As the information as required to be provided after 5 days has not been provided, I determine this complaint to be well founded and I award the complainant 2 weeks remuneration pursuant to the Act an amount I determine to be €389 x 2=€778 as a reasonable and fair based on his short service.

d) in relation to a complaint of a contravention under change section 3, 4, 5, 6, 6D, 6E, 6F, or 6G, and without prejudice to any order made under paragraph (e) order the employer to pay to the employee compensation of such amount (if any) as the adjudication officer considers just and equitable having regard to all of the circumstances, but not exceeding 4 weeks’ remuneration in respect of the employee’s employment calculated in accordance with regulations under section 17 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977.

I have awarded 2 weeks for each breach based on the fact that the period of employment was  short and where the Act states that the amount shall not exceed 4 weeks, which provides a discretion to be exercised based on the facts of each case.

Uniform-Notice-Information about Terms