ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00053804
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Mairead Cahalan | Sortridge Ltd t/a Electric Media Sales & Packed House / Now in Liquidation, |
| Complainant | Respondent |
Representatives | Self - Represented | Mr E McLaughlin – Liquidator. |
Complaint:
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-00065641-001 | 27/08/2024 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 29/10/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991following 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.
In deference to the Supreme Court ruling, Zalewski v Ireland and the WRC [2021] IESC 24 on the 6th of April 2021 the Parties were informed in advance that the Hearing would normally be in Public, Testimony under Oath or Affirmation would be required and full cross examination of all witnesses would be provided for.
The required Oath / Affirmation was administered to all witnesses present. The legal peril of committing Perjury was explained to all parties.
No issue regarding confidentiality arose.
Background:
The issue in contention concerns the non-payment of an agreed 10% Annual Bonus to the Complainant. The 2011, 2022, and 2023 bonus payments are outstanding together with a pro rata for 2024. The Company ceased trading in July 2024 and was represented by Mr McL, the Liquidator.
The Complainant was employed as Head of Corporate Development from 30th April 2018 to the 16th August 2024 at an annual rate of €45,939 for a 22.5-hour week.
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1: Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant was self-represented. She gave an extensive oral testimony supported by a substantial Written Submission. In essence, her case was that the question of the outstanding Annual Bonus payment had been resolved on the 7th December 2023 with an Agreement to pay the outstanding money in monthly instalments over a three-year period beginning in January 2024. The payments were made until July 2024 when the Company ceased to trade. The Complainant made her payment of Wages claim for the amount of bonus still outstanding which she estimated to be €14,600. |
2: Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent was represented by the Liquidator, Mr Mc L supported by Mr W, Senior company Manager. The basic facts were not disputed by the Liquidator. It was accepted that the monies quoted were liable to the Complainant save for some minor queries regarding her time on Maternity leave in 2022. |
3: Findings and Conclusions:
3:1 Legal position – Payment of Wages Act,1991 and Workplace Relations Act ,2015 Section 1(a) of the Payment of Wages Act,1991 clearly included Bonus Payments in the definition of Wages. Section 5 provides for the Regulation of Deductions -including non-payment of wages. Section 6 grants the Adjudicator powers to declare the complaint well founded. The question of Time Limits in considered in Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2014 - a period of 12 months is allowable under Section41(8) Accordingly, the complaint is within time – the payment agreement was on the 7th December 2023 and the claim was with the WRC by the 27th of August 2024. The Complaint has accordingly to be deemed Well Founded. A Payment of € 14,600 is due to the Complainant.
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4: Decision:
CA: 00065641-001
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Cat,1991 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions of the cited Acts.
The Complaint is deemed Well Founded.
A payment of € 14,600 should be paid to the Complainant as soon as possible but no later than 8 weeks from the publication date of this decision
Dated: 02-12-2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Key Words:
Payment of Wages, Bonus Payments, Liquidation |