Reduction in Pay - Refusal to Work

Reduction in Pay - No Consent to Reduction

An interesting case came before the Workplace Relations Commission wherein an employee contended that his pay had been reduced unilaterally to which he objected and therefore felt justified to bring a claim under Section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 (see: ADJ-00028573).

Covid-19 and Reduced Pay

Like many businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the respondent employer sought to reduce the employee’s salary from €1,000 net per week to €1,000 gross per week, resulting in an actual reduction of €120 per week.

The respondent employer justified this reduction on account of the reduced revenue and workload the company was facing.

Requirement to Work - Payment of Wages Claim

The employee refused the wage reduction and never returned to work thereafter. He subsequently submitted a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission under the Payment of Wages Act, 1991. However, it was noted by the Adjudication Officer that, as the employee concerned never worked subsequent to the proposed wage cut, there was in fact no actual reduction in his salary.

Therefore, the Workplace Relations Commission found that no breach of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 actually occurred.

Accordingly, the Workplace Relations Commission declared that the complaint was not well-founded.

Further Information

For further information, please contact the author of this article, Barry Crushell.