This matter came before the Court by way of an appeal brought by the Dublin Airport Authority against a decision of an Adjudication Officer which found in favour of the Respondent, John Bacon. The Respondent alleged that the Appellant failed to pay him the amount of €2,472.10 on the termination of his employment and that failure amounted to an unlawful deduction. The Respondent contended that he should have received four ‘back weeks’ pay upon the conclusion of his employment.

The Appellant submitted that the Respondent, as a result of a collective agreement reached at the end of 2018, was paid two weeks in arrears up to the date of termination of his employment and, in consequence of that fact, continued to be remunerated for two weeks after the termination of his employment. The Appellant maintained that the Respondent was paid on a current basis until a collective agreement concluded in late 2018 which provided for payment of affected staff on the basis of two weeks in arrears. The Appellant claimed that at all times throughout the Respondent’s employment until the beginning of 2019 the Respondent was paid ‘in advance’ in respect of all aspects of his pay which were not dependent on time actually worked and ‘in arrears’ in respect of those elements which depended on time actually worked.

The Respondent submitted that, upon his recruitment in 1979, his contract provided that he would be paid ‘weekly in arrears’. He submitted that, by agreement, he was moved to being paid fortnightly in arrears in 1985. In support of his contention, the Respondent submitted a copy of a letter from the Appellant issued to him in 1979 and also submitted a copy of a document issued by the Appellant upon the introduction of fortnightly pay in 1985.

The Court, faced with an absence of significant relevant payroll details, established that the Respondent was, prior to the conclusion of a collective agreement in 2018, paid all pay increases which were expressed to apply from a specific date on a current rather than an arrears basis.

Taking into account the undisputed pay history of the Respondent in terms of the application of increases expressed to apply to the Appellant’s pay from specific dates, the Court determined, on the balance of probability, that the Respondent was not in fact paid in arrears in the manner submitted by him prior to the agreement concluded in late 2018.

The Court therefore concluded that the failure of the Appellant to pay the sum of €2,472.10 to the Respondent on the 11th September 2018 could not be an unlawful deduction within the meaning of the Payment of Wages Act. In these circumstances, the Appellant’s appeal is allowed, and the decision of the Adjudication Officer is set aside.
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2020/july/pwd2021.html