ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00044260
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Paul McDermott | Brian Keenan Decorators Ltd |
Representatives | In person | Did not attend |
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-00055212-001 | 20/02/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00055212-002 | 20/02/2023 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 12 of the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act, 1973 | CA-00055212-004 | 20/02/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 31/08/2023
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 to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.
Background:
The complaints were submitted to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on 20th February 2023. There are three complaints to be adjudicated upon: 1) Unpaid wages and overtime, 2) Holiday and Public Holiday pay and 3) Notice entitlements.
The complainant worked for the respondent from on or about 7th March 2016 until he was placed on temporary lay-off on 4th November 2022. The complainant’s employment ended permanently on 30th January 2023. The complainant’s rate of pay was €780 gross per week.
The cognizable period of the complaint is the six-month period immediately before the complaint was lodged (21st August 2022 – 20th February 2023) |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
CA-00055212-001 – Unpaid Wages and Overtime The complainant outlined by way of verbal submission that he was placed on temporary lay off on 4th November 2022 and was not paid for his last two weeks of employment. The complainant further outlined that he was owed approximately €2650 in unpaid overtime. CA-00055212-002 – Holiday and Public Holiday Pay The complainant outlined that he was due four days of annual leave as well as four days of public holiday entitlement in respect of 31/10/22, 25/12/22, 26/12/22 and 1/1/23. CA-00055212-003 – Notice entitlements The complainant stated that he did not receive his statutory notice entitlements when his employment ended |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The respondent did not attend the adjudication hearing and was not represented. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The respondent did not attend the adjudication hearing and was not represented. I am satisfied that the respondent was notified to its registered address in respect of the time, date and location of the adjudication hearing. I also note that the current status of the respondent on the CRO website is described as “normal”. CA-00055212-001 – Unpaid Wages and Overtime Having heard the submissions of the complainant, I am satisfied that he gave an honest account of the circumstances that led up to the termination of his employment and the monies that were due to him but not paid. The complainant is owed two week’s gross pay. In respect of the overtime payments, the complainant did not provide any specifics of overtime hours worked during the cognisable period of the complaint (21/8/22-20/2/23) and on that basis, I find that this element of the complaint is not well founded. CA-00055212-002 – Holiday and Public Holiday Pay On the basis of the verbal submissions of the complainant, I accept that the complainant is due four days of annual leave and four days of public holiday entitlement. CA-00055212-003 – Notice entitlements The complainant worked for the respondent from 7th March 2016 until on or about 4th November 2022. The complainant is entitled to 4 weeks gross pay in respect of notice 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-00055212-001 – Unpaid Wages and Overtime The complaint is well founded. The respondent is directed to pay the complainant two weeks gross pay (€1,560) in respect of unpaid wages. CA-00055212-002 – Holiday and Public Holiday Pay The complaint is well founded. The respondent is directed to pay the complainant four days of holiday pay (€624) and four days public holiday entitlements (€624) totalling a gross payment €1,248.00. CA-00055212-003 – Notice entitlements The complainant is well founded. The respondent is directed to pay the complainant €3,120 in respect of notice entitlements. |
Dated: 1st November, 2023
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Andrew Heavey
Key Words:
Unpaid wages, annual leave and public holiday entitlements, notice entitlements |