ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00048852
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Andrew Conaway (deceased) | Celtic Management Services Limited |
Representatives | Jac Conaway (father) | Mr Syed Shah (director) |
Complaint:
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-00060130-001 | 20/11/2023 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 13/09/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Procedure:
In accordance with section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, this complaint was assigned to me by the Director General. The complainant, Mr Andrew Conaway, died suddenly on June 27th 2023. At the time of his death, he was employed by Celtic Management Services Limited. Having established that his son was not paid his salary for June 2023, and that he was not paid his outstanding holiday pay, the complainant’s father, Mr Jac Conaway, contacted his deceased son’s former employer to seek payment. When his efforts failed, on November 20th 2023, he submitted this complaint to the WRC. Celtic Management Services Limited was represented by the chief technical officer (CTO) and company director, Mr Syed Shah.
Background:
Mr Conaway Senior lives in the United States and a remote hearing of this complaint was scheduled for February 21st 2024. On February 19th, the CTO of Celtic Management Services Limited, Mr Syed Shah, sent Mr Conaway an email and informed him that $2,558 (intended to be equivalent to €2,705) was transferred to his bank account that day. This was Andrew Conaway’s net pay for 17 days before his death on June 27th 2023. In his email, Mr Shah confirmed that a further sum of €1,445 was due in outstanding holiday pay. Mr Conaway identified a shortfall in the amount paid due to the euro / dollar exchange rate and he requested some time to allow the respondent to pay the shortfall and the holiday pay of €1,445. On February 22nd 2024, Mr Shah wrote again to Mr Conaway and confirmed that a shortfall of $187 in his son’s June 2023 wages had been transferred to his account and that €1,445 would be transferred in euros, for conversion by his bank. Mr Shah sent a document to the WRC and to Mr Conaway which indicates that, on March 7th 2024, two amounts of $187 dollars and €1,445 euros were transferred to Mr Conaway’s bank account. On March 13th, Mr Conaway confirmed that $187 was successfully transferred to his account. By August 2023, the amount of €1,445 had not been received and a remote hearing was scheduled for September 13th. At the hearing, Mr Shah explained that he transferred €1,445 to Mr Conaway’s bank account in the same manner as he had transferred the previous amounts of $2,558 and $187, although the €1,445 was a euro transfer. It emerged that, on the transfer document, Mr Conaway’s name was spelled incorrectly (as “Conway”) and there was a concern that this may have caused the transfer of the funds to be stalled. In any event, Mr Shah agreed to transfer the money by another method. It is my understanding that, as of November 5th 2024, Mr Conaway had not received his late son’s holiday pay, although there is no dispute with his former employer regarding the fact that the amount of €1,445 is properly payable. |
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.
I decide that this complaint is well founded. I direct Celtic Management Services Limited to pay Mr Conaway compensation of €1,445 equivalent to the net pay in respect of untaken holidays due to his late son Andrew, at the time of his death on June 27th 2023. |
Dated: 05th of November 2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Catherine Byrne
Key Words:
Wages properly payable, holiday pay |