ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00052577
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Sandra Ryan | GLS - Wilson De Sa |
| Complainant | Respondent |
Representatives | Self-Represented | No Appearance / Non-Attendance. |
Complaints:
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-00064352-001 | 25/06/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00064352-002 | 25/06/2024 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 23/10/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991,] 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 by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.
In deference to the Supreme Court ruling, Zalewski v Ireland and the WRC [2021] IESC 24 on the 6th of April 2021 the Parties were informed in advance that the Hearing would normally be in Public, Testimony under Oath or Affirmation would be required and full cross examination of all witnesses would be provided for.
The required Oath / Affirmation was administered to all witnesses present. The legal peril of committing Perjury was explained to all parties.
No issue regarding confidentiality arose.
Background:
The case concerns a Delivery Driver /Courier with a Courier Company. The Employment ended on the 24th April 2024. The Complainant alleged thatshe was still due €1,220 in unpaid wages.
The employment began in August 2023 and ended on the 23rd April 2024. The rate of pay varied but was generally in the region of € 850 per month or €120 per day worked.
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Procedural issue
Complaints CA-00064352-001 and CA-00064352-002 were amalgamated.
1: Summary of Complainant’s Case: CA-00064352-001& 002
The Complaint was self-represented but gave a Sworn Testimony. She had been in a minor traffic accident on the 23rd April 2024 with the Respondent’s van. On investigation by the Gardai, it appeared that the van was not legally insured. A Road Traffic Court case had ensued. Following the accident the Complainant received no more work and was left unpaid for April 2024 and was deducted €350 for Van Repairs from her March Salary giving a total due of €1,220. While there was no contract of employment produced in evidence it was agreed that the Complainant was an insurable employee, a contract OF service existed by custom & practice and common understanding. |
2: Summary of Respondent’s Case: CA-00064352-001& 002
The Respondent did not attend the Hearing. The Adjudicator was satisfied that proper notice of the time, place and date of the Hearing had been properly served on the last known address of the Respondent. No mitigating explanations for non-attendance were received at the WRC. A period of 4 weeks was allowed post the Hearing for this purpose.
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3: Findings and Conclusions:
The Complainant gave Sworn Testimony supported by a Pay Slip for Month ending 31st March 2023. On questioning from the Adjudication Officer, he was satisfied that a contract OF Service had existed. It was clear that Wages due for April had not been paid (€870) and an unagreed deduction of €350 in March had been made. It appeared that the favoured method of payment by the Respondent was cash in hand. Section 5 of the Payment of wages Act,1991 is quoted below. Regulation of certain deductions made, and payments received by employers. 5.—(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. (2) An employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee in respect of— (a) any act or omission of the employee, or (b) any goods or services supplied to or provided for the employee by the employer the supply or provision of which is necessary to the employment, unless— (i) the deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a term (whether express or implied and, if express, whether oral or in writing) of the contract of employment made between the employer and the employee, and (ii) the deduction is of an amount that is fair and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances (including the amount of the wages of the employee), and (iii) before the time of the act or omission or the provision of the goods or services, the employee has been furnished with— (I) in case the term referred to in subparagraph (i) is in writing, a copy thereof, (II) in any other case, notice in writing of the existence and effect of the term, and (iv) in case the deduction is in respect of an act or omission of the employee, the employee has been furnished, at least one week before the making of the deduction, with particulars in writing of the act or omission and the amount of the deduction, and (v) in case the deduction is in respect of compensation for loss or damage sustained by the employer as a result of an act or omission of the employee, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the amount of the loss or the cost of the damage, and (vi) in case the deduction is in respect of goods or services supplied or provided as aforesaid, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the cost to the employer of the goods or services, and (vii) the deduction or, if the total amount payable to the employer by the employee in respect of the act or omission or the goods or services is to be so paid by means of more than one deduction from the wages of the employee, the first such deduction is made not later than 6 months after the act or omission becomes known to the employer or, as the case may be, after the provision of the goods or services.
Accordingly, by virtue of Section 5 of the Act the Deduction of Wages (€870) and the unagreed Van repair Deduction (€350) were in breach of the Act. No mitigating evidence was offered by the Respondent. |
4: Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, 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- CA-00064352-001& 002
Under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act,1991 the Complaints are deemed to be Well Founded.
I direct that €870 in Unpaid Wages and €350 in reimbursement of an unagreed Deduction of €350 be paid, within four weeks of the publication date of this Adjudication finding, to the Complainant
Dated: 30th January 2025.
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Michael McEntee
Key Words:
Payment of Wages, Unagreed Deductions. |