Complainant

Respondent

Anonymised Parties

An Engineer

A State Body

Representatives

 Liam Doherty, HR Consultant

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-00062003-001

05/03/2024

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997

CA-00062003-002

05/03/2024

The Complainant commenced Employment with the Respondent on 31 July 2017 as an Engineer Grade II. Her employment ended on 10 February 2023. She submitted two complaints to the WRC on 5 March 2024 stating in the first instance that deductions were illegally made from her pay and also that she did not receive her full holiday entitlements.

CA-00062003-001:

The Complainant stated that the Respondent did not adhere to the terms of relevant government circulars regarding starting pay on promotion for existing public and civil servants appointed to positions in the Respondent organisation. She stated this meant that over the course of her employment in the Respondent that she was not properly paid as set out in section 5(6) of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 resulting in a cumulative loss of earnings which she stated are treated as a deduction of wages under the Payment of Wages Act 1991. Specifically, she stated that she was underpaid two increments per year from the date of what would have been three years at the maximum point of the scale in her previous position.

CA-00062003-002:

The Complainant stated that she did not receive her paid annual leave entitlement as set out in relevant government circulars regarding the retention of existing annual leave allowances for public and civil servants. This meant that the provision of leave afforded to her during her period working with the Respondent fell short of what she was entitled to in line with rules regarding the reckoning of prior service in the calculation of her annual leave entitlement. She stated that she was also not facilitated to take days off in lieu of certified sick leave during bank holidays between 2017 and 2019 of approximately one to two days

CA-00062003-001

The Complainant commenced Employment on the 31st July 2017 and as per the contract of Employment was offered a positionat Engineer Grade IIwith the Respondent  subject to a number of conditions including :

Clause 4.1

Your salary will be €59,765(Eng II Grade, Point 1) per annum payable monthly into your nominated bank account, after the deduction of PAYE and PRSI payments and all other lawful or authorised deductions. 

When a query was raised by the Complainant prior to signing the contract regarding her salary, it was confirmed by the Respondent that they had no discretion in the matter and the contract was returned duly signed.

The contract clearly set out the Grade, (Eng II) and Scale Point (1) which was applied by the Respondent fully honoured the contract, there is no question of any deduction within the meaning of the Act and therefore no valid claim arises.

CA-00062003-002:

The Respondent asserted that the Complainant’s contract stated that she was entitled to 27 days annual leave per year, which is considerably in excess of the minimum entitlement set out in the OWT Act and no valid claim arises.

When a query was raised prior to signing the contract, it was confirmed by HR that the Respondent had no discretion in the matter and the contract was returned duly signed.

In relation to accrued days off due to certified absence on a Public Holiday, the Respondent stated that in all instances where a medical certificate was provided to cover a Public Holiday, compensatory days off in lieu were provided for by increasing annual leave entitlement accordingly. This was the case for 25/12/2020, 26/12/2020, 01/01/21 and 17/03/2021.

Preliminary Matter

Time Limits

The Law

Section 41(6) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 provides as follows in respect of time limits: 

“Subject to subsection (8), an adjudication officer shall not entertain a complaint referred to him or her under this section if it has been presented to the Director General after the expiration of the period of 6 months beginning on the date of the contravention to which the complaint relates.

Section 41(8) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 provides that if a complaint is not submitted within six months of the alleged contravention, an extension may be granted by an Adjudication Officer up to a maximum time limit of twelve months where, in the opinion of the Adjudication Officer, the Complainant has demonstrated reasonable cause for the delay in accordance with the provisions:

“An adjudication officer may entertain a complaint or dispute to which this section applies presented or referred to the Director General after the period referred to in subsection (6) or (7) (but not later than six months after such expiration), as the case may be, if he or she is satisfied that the failure to present the complaint or refer the dispute within that period was due to reasonable cause.” 

Analysis

Although the Complainant’s employment ended on 10 February 2023, these complaints were not submitted to the WRC until 5 March 2024. I find that even if I could extend the time by the six-month period outlined in section 41(8) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 these complaints would be out of time and I therefore have no jurisdiction in respect of these.

I find that I do not have jurisdiction to hear these complaints for the reasons set out above.