PWD2314

1. Appeal of Adjudication Officer Decision No(S) ADJ-00026583 CA-00034130-001

BACKGROUND:

2. This is an appeal of an Adjudication Officer’s Decision made pursuant to Section 7(1) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991. The appeal was heard by the Labour Court on 21 June 2023 in accordance with Section 44 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015. The following is the Court's Determination:-

DETERMINATION:

Background to the Appeal

This is an appeal on behalf of SEDA (Skills & Enterprise Development Academy) Limited (‘the Respondent’) from a decision of an Adjudication Officer (ADJ-00026853/ CA-00034130-001, dated 2 August 2022) under the Payment of Wages Act 1991 (‘the Act’). Notice of Appeal was received on 31 August 2022. The Court heard the appeal along with five other related appeals over three days: 14 and 15 February 2023 and on 21 June 2023.

The originating complaint under the Act was received by the Workplace Relations Commission on 2 February 2020. It follows that the period comprehended by the complaint is 3 August 2019 to 2 February 2020.

Factual Matrix

The Complainant is a Colombian national. In 2016 she came to study English at the Respondent language school. On completion of her course, she undertook an internship with the Respondent and commenced employment there on a part-time basis in October 2016. The Complainant’s initial appointment was in the marketing and sales department. She was paid an hourly rate of €9.15 plus commission on sales. The commission element only became payable when a student had paid in full for their course. Commission payments were made to the Complainant by cheque separately from her salary. The Complainant assumed a full-time role with the Respondent as a Receptionist in September 2018. She continued to perform sales for a number of months thereafter also.

In April 2019, the Complainant and Respondent agreed a revised arrangement in writing in relation to the rates of commission that were payable on a range of different types of language courses offered by the Respondent. The agreement (dated 17 April 2019) lists the rates of commission payable as follows:

Renew student: Courses from 1550 Eur (medical insurance included) 100 Eur per student;

• • Courses less than 1550 Eur (medical insurance included) 50 Eur-75Eur per student;
  New Student: Courses from 1550 Eur (medical insurance included) 10%.
  
  

Submissions

The Complainant submits that she was paid a fixed, flat rate for each of her sales in the relevant period and was not paid the 10% rate of commission on sales of courses from €1550.00 (medical insurance included) to new students. It is also her submission that all her sales in the relevant period should have earned her 10% commission totalling €5,599.00.

The Respondent acknowledges that the Complainant was underpaid commission during this period and calculates the total underpayment as being €1,000.00.

Discussion and Decision

The Court has carefully examined the parties’ respective schedules of sales made by the Complainant and commission paid by the Respondent in the relevant period. Having done so, the Court finds that the Complainant was underpaid commission by €1,815.00 in that period.

The Court, therefore, directs the Respondent to pay this amount in compensation under the Act. The decision of the Adjudication Officer is varied accordingly.

The Court so determines.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Alan Haugh
CO'R	______________________
19 July 2023	Deputy Chairman