ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00054168
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Aisling Lawlor | Club 54 |
Representatives | Self-represented |
|
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-00066029-001 | 16/09/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00066029-002 | 16/09/2024 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 24/02/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Seamus Clinton
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 and to present any evidence relevant to the complaints. The hearing was held in the Hearing Rooms of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Carlow. The complainant, Ms Lawlor, attended the hearing and gave evidence under affirmation. The respondent did not attend the hearing.
Background:
The complaint, under the Payment of Wages Act, is that the complainant was not paid for work carried out for the respondent company from 29th July 2024 to 15th September 2024. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
Summary of Aisling Lawlor (complainant) Evidence Ms Lawlor gave evidence that she signed a contract and commenced employment with the respondent on 29th July 2024. The agreed salary was €45,000. The nightclub closed on 15th September 2024. The complainant submitted into evidence a signed agreement with the manager that she would be paid a total amount of €3,472.68 gross wages by 1st October 2024. She said that she was not paid these wages. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
There was no attendance at the hearing by a representative of the respondent company. I am satisfied that the respondent was on notice of the hearing. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Law Section 5(1) of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 sets out the parameters according to which deductions may be made from an employee’s wages: “(1) An employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee (or receive any payment from an employee) unless— (a) the deduction (or payment) is required or authorised to be made by virtue of any statute or any instrument made under statute, (b) the deduction (or payment) is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a term of the employee's contract of employment included in the contract before, and in force at the time of, the deduction or payment, or (c) in the case of a deduction, the employee has given his prior consent in writing to it.” Section 5(6) addresses the circumstances in which wages which are properly payable are not paid: “(6) 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.” Finding I am satisfied that €3,472.68 gross wages were properly payable to the complainant, particularly as an agreement to this effect was signed by the manager. I decide that the complaint is well founded. The respondent should pay the complainant €3,472.68 gross wages. |
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-00066029-001 I decide that the complaint is well founded. The respondent should pay the complainant €3,472.68 gross wages. CA-00066029-002 This is a duplicate complaint to the above complaint. |
Dated: 25.02.25
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Seamus Clinton
Key Words:
Payment of wages, |