ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00054230
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Kieran Sheehan | Kiely Transport Limited |
Representatives | Self-Represented | No Appearance |
Complaint:
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-00066018-001 | 16/09/2024 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 08/01/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Thomas O'Driscoll
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint. The Respondent did not attend the hearing.
Background:
The Complainant was employed as a courier/delivery driver from 17 August 2024 to 7 September 2024, earning a wage of €120 per day. The Complainant asserts that the Respondent unlawfully deducted €378.23 from his wages to cover the cost of repairing a motorist’s wing mirror that he clipped while driving. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant gave evidence that he damaged the wing mirror of a car while reversing. He admitted liability but the Respondent deducted €€378.23 from his wage without his permission. The Complainant gave evidence that he did not receive a formal written contract of employment, nor did he receive a wage slip, but he did exhibit the invoice for the wing mirror as well as a series of ‘WhatsApp’ messages between himself and the Respondent attesting to the deduction. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent did not attend the hearing though I am reasonably satisfied that he was informed of the date and time of the hearing. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Payment of Wages Act 1991 Act provides: S 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 any 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. The Complainant gave uncontested evidence that he never received a contract of employment, nor any other written provision citing a policy of deduction of pay, therefore, I am satisfied that there was no lawful basis for the deduction of €378.23 from the Complainant’s wage. I find that the complaint was well founded. |
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.
For the reasons outlined above I find that the Respondent unlawfully deducted €378.23 from the wage of the Complainant. I direct the Respondent to pay the Complainant the net sum of €378.23. |
Dated: 27-01-25
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Thomas O'Driscoll
Key Words:
Payment of Wages Act 1991, Unlawful Deduction. |