This is a complaint pursuant to the Payment of Wages Act.  The complainant worked for the respondent between the 14th of June to 18th of November 2019 as an Industrial Manager and also looked after office cleaning. He was paid €2,900 per month.  He claims outstanding pay and commission earned in October and November 2019, which ought to have been paid to him on the 8th of December 2019. The respondent denies the claim and asserts that the Complaint owed the Respondent monies for withholding and damage to company property.

The Complainant commenced employment as an Industrial Manager and from September 2019, he also looked after the office cleaning. He started to work longer hours, starting at 4am and working to 11pm. He took on this additional role after a Manager had left the Respondent company.  The Complainant stated that he was not paid for the annual leave days he took in October and November 2019.

The Respondent outlined that the Complainant had not submitted any hours of work for the end of October. Between the 25th and 31st October, the Complainant took unpaid leave, which had been approved by the manager, but for which he was not entitled to be paid. The Respondent outlined that the Complainant took nine days of annual leave in October and was paid for this annual leave. It outlined that the Complainant was uncontactable on the 15th of November 2019 as he would not answer his phone. He had been due to attend the office at 3pm but did not attend. The manager refuted everything the Complainant stated about long hours and cleaners not getting paid. The Respondent paid all staff, but depended on receiving accurate rosters from the managers, including the Complainant’s wife.

In respect of commission, the Respondent submitted that the contract provided commission to be paid on new jobs priced. The Complainant was paid €414.41 in August and €910 in September. He was due €300.14 for November and this was not paid.

The Respondent alleged that they were entitled to withhold monies from the Complainant as he had not surrendered all company property and that a clause in the contract of employment permitted them to do so.

The Adjudication Officer stated that the burden of proof falls on the Complainant to show that the wages were properly payable. Due to the fact that the Complainant did not have supporting or corroborative documentation, the Adjudication Officer found that the Complainant did not meet the burden of proof in respect of showing that any wages that were properly payable to him were not paid. However, it followed that the Respondent was not entitled to deduct the €1,352 owing to the Complainant for November 2019 on the basis that the Respondent did not furnish the particulars of the deduction before doing so as per Article 5(2) of the Payment of Wages Act. The Adjudication Officer ruled that this element of the complaint was well-founded, and the Respondent was ordered to pay the Complainant the sum of €1,352.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2021/march/adj-00026875.html