The Complainant, a Hungarian national, was employed as a Kitchen Porter for the Respondent company since 2015.

In the beginning, the Complainant worked between two kitchens that the Respondent owned.  In December of 2017/January 2018, things started to deteriorate rapidly for the Complainant as there had been a change of ownership in the company. He no longer worked in both kitchens.  Conditions began to worsen as staff were not getting paid and were coming and going each and every week. This high rate of staff turnover meant that there was extra pressure on the staff that remained.

The Complainant approached the manager on numerous occasions to address the issue. Each time the manager reassured him that everything would be sorted and to trust her. The manager also confirmed that everyone would be paid what they are owed.

When the Complainant would eventually be paid by cheque they would bounce and the manager would pay him cash to carry him over until the next week, when again she would promise that all would be sorted out. The situation came to a head when the Complainant was not paid for weeks on end which gave him no alternative but to hand in his notice on the 16th of March 2018.

The Respondent did not attend the hearing. The Adjudication Officer found that the Respondent was in breach of the Payment of Wages Act 1991.

It was held that the Respondent had exploited the Complainant’s goodwill and loyalty to the business and left him no option but to hand in his notice.

Accordingly, the Adjudication Officer found that the Complainant was constructively dismissed from his employment and awarded the Complainant €16,510 in compensation.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2019/may/adj-00016112.html