Payment of Wages Act

Payment of Wages Resources:

• Guide to Payment of Wages under Irish Employment Law
• Bringing a Payment of Wages Claim
• Payment of Wages Cases and Claims
• Non Payment of Wages and Unfair Dismissal

Deductions from Salary without Notification

This case (Assistant Site Manager v Construction Company ADJ-00027737) involved the deduction by the employer of the employee’s wages while he was attending a site management course at a Dublin technology college. Ordinarily the employee had not had his salary deducted while attending this course, however the employer contended that his salary had subsequently been increased while his hours were reduced to afford him an opportunity to attend these classes.

This only became apparent to the employee when he queried his pay slips. He had not been provided with any notification of this change in writing. That being the case, he resigned his position.

Given the facts, the WRC found that the complaint was well founded and awarded the employee €615.38 as a gross payment which would be subject to payroll deductions.

Non Payment In Lieu of Notice

This case (Business Development Manager v Manufacturing Company ADJ-00026668) examines what the WRC will consider with regard to a payment of wages claim when the date of dismissal is in dispute.

The claim was grounded on the employee’s assertion that his employment with the employer ceased on 08 November 2020. Elsewhere, the WRC found that the employee’s employment with the employer ended on 15 September 2019. The WRC therefore found that the employee was not entitled to payment of wages from 15 September 2019 until 08 November 2019. However, it was subsequently found that the employee was not paid an appropriate payment in lieu of notice of termination of employment as is required under Section 4 of the minimum notice in Terms of Employment Act, 1973. Accordingly, the WRC found that the employee was entitled to an additional 2 days’ pay which amounted to €235.

Of note is that the employee contended that the employer had been late paying his salary on a number of occasions. At the hearing, the WRC adjudicator explained that he did not have the jurisdiction, under the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, to make any findings in relation to the late payment of wages.

Not Paid for Any Work Undertaken

In this case (Waitress v A Restaurant ADJ-00027090), the employee claims she was never paid for any work undertaken. The employee was employed by her employer restaurant from 05 February 2020 until 08 February 2020. She worked a total of 30 hours. Her hourly rate of pay was €13 per hour. The employer did not attend the hearing and therefore the evidence was uncontested. That being the case, the WRC found that, under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, the employee was entitled to €390 in respect of her unpaid wages. As is customary, payment was ordered within 42 days from the date of the decision of the adjudicator.

Non-Payment of Bonus

This case (Stephen Kiely v Lee Overlay Partners Limited ADJ-00021741) examines the non-payment of a bonus entitlement. The employee concerned argued that he was owed a sum of €6,300 in respect of two bonus payments which were due from previous performance appraisals in 2016 and 2017. He contended that the failure to pay these bonus entitlements amounted to an unlawful deduction under the Payment of Wages Act. In the initial WRC hearing, the adjudicator agreed and made such an award. However, the decision was appealed by the employer.

The employer contended that Mr Kiely was not entitled to the bonus as he had been subject to a disciplinary process. However, the Labour Court, on closer examination, noted that he had not been subject to a disciplinary process but was merely asked to attend a meeting in relation to certain issues which fell far short of the processes and procedures envisaged and articulated under the company’s policies and procedures. That being the case, the withholding of the bonus entitlements was deemed to be unfair and unreasonable as the employee had otherwise met all of the necessary criteria for payment.

The Labour Court was satisfied that the company had contravened the Payment of Wages Act in respect of the non-payment of the bonuses. The Labour Court directed the company to compensate Mr Kiely for that breach in the sum of €6,300, thereby affirming the original decision of the WRC.