The complainant worked as a waiter for the respondent. He made a number of claims to a Rights Commissioner (RC) that the OWT Act was infringed by his employer, some of which were upheld. His claim that he was penalised by his employer contrary to Section 26 of the Act failed, however, and it was that decision which was the subject of this appeal to the Labour Court. The respondent did not attend the appeal hearing and so the case proceeded on the uncontested evidence of the complainant.

The complainant stated that he began work on 10th August 2013 at 11 a.m. and he expected to finish at 11 p.m. that night. He worked alone in the restaurant area