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PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No's: ADJ-00038889 (CA-00049857-003)

BACKGROUND:

This is an appeal of an Adjudication Officer’s Decision made pursuant to the Payment of Wages Act, 1991.  The appeal was heard by the Labour Court on the 20 September 2024 in accordance with Section 44 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015. 

 The following is the Court's Decision:

DECISION:

This is an appeal by Mr Francesco Serao (the Complainant) against an Adjudication officer’s Decision ADJ-000388889 CA-0000049857-001 given under the Payment of Wages Act 1991(the Act) in a claim that his employer Crystal Valet Centre Ltd (the Respondent) made an unlawful deduction from his wages.

 Background

The Complainant commenced employment with the Respondent on the 22nd September 2021 as a Car Valet and went out sick on the 9th October 2021. The complaint was lodged with the WRC on the 25th April 2022. The cognisable period for the purpose of the Act is 26th October 2021 to 24th April 2022.

 Summary of Complainant’s case

The Complainant accepts that there was no contractual or statutory obligation to pay him while he was absent on sick leave. He accepts he was absent on sick leave for the full cognisable period. It is the Complainant’s complaint that the Respondent would not sign a form that would entitle him to an illness payment from the department of Social Protection.

 Summary of Respondent’s case.

It is the Respondent’s case that no monies were properly payable to the Complainant for the period in question, therefore the claim cannot succeed.  The form the Complainant is referring to was in respect of an accident in the workplace. The Respondent is not on notice of an accident in the workplace, and does not accept that there was an accident in the workplace at the alleged time.

 The applicable law

       Section 5 (6) of the Payment of Wage Act 1991 states;

“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

(b) none of the wages that are properly payable to an employee by an employer on any occasion (after making any such deductions as aforesaid) are paid to the employee,

then, except in so far as the deficiency or non-payment is attributable to an error of computation, the amount of the deficiency or non-payment shall be treated as a deduction made by the employer from the wages of the employee on the occasion”.

Discussion and determination

 For a breach of the Payment of Wages Act to occur the wages referenced in the claim must be properly payable. The Complainant accepts that he was not entitled to be paid during the relevant period as he was out sick.  As there was no payment properly payable during the relevant period the appeal must fail.

The appeal fails.  The decision of the Adjudication Officer is upheld.

The Court so determines.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Louise O'Donnell
ÁM	______________________
03 October 2024	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Decision should be addressed to Áine Maunsell, Court Secretary.