ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00048396
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Aine Leonard | Life Time Care Ltd. |
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | {text} | {text} |
Representatives | In person | No Appearance |
Complaint(s):
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-00059459-001 | 17/10/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 26/02/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
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.
Background:
This Complaint is for unpaid wages and unpaid annual leave |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
Under affirmation the Complainant gave the following evidence: She commenced work for the Respondent as a health care assistant on 12 June 2017. Her employment ended on in October 2023 after the Respondent informed her and other staff on 22 September 2023 that the business was closing because it was unable to meet its debts. Unpaid Wages At the time she received notice of termination the Complainant was owed wages for the previous three weeks (week 38 (€660) week 39 (€510) and week 40 (€353) which gave an unpaid wage loss of €1523. Unpaid Annual Leave At the time the Complainant received notice of termination of her employment she had not received any paid annual leave in the previous twelve months. The Complainant’s working pattern was a 7-day week followed by a 5-day week. When she worked weekends, her weekly gross pay was €660 per week. When she did not work weekends, her weekly gross pay was €510 per week. This averaged out at a gross weekly wage of €585. She seeks payment in lieu of 4 weeks of annual leave, relying on the weekly average pay rate of €585, ie €2340.00 Her total claim (wages plus annual leave) under the Payment of Wages Act is € 3863
|
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
There was no appearance either on or on behalf of the Respondent |
Findings and Conclusions:
Being satisfied that the Respondent was on notice of both the complaint and the Adjudication hearing which took place on 26 February 2024 and chose not to attend the hearing or defend these complaints, I proceeded to investigate the complaint based on the evidence of the Complainant alone. Based on the uncontested evidence of the Complainant I am satisfied that when the Complainant received notice of the termination of her employment, she had not been paid for three weeks wages and she had not received paid annual leave or payment in lieu within the previous 12 months. I am satisfied that this complaint is well founded, and I award the Complainant the sum of €3863 in respect of both breaches of the Payment of Wages Act 1991. |
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.
This complaint is well founded. I award the Complainant the sum of €3863 |
Dated: 28/02/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Key Words:
Payment of Wages Act 1991 – wages and annual leave |