ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00055645
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Christopher Murray | Digisure Global |
Representatives | Self | N/A |
Complaint:
Act | Complaint Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00067734-001 | 28/11/2024 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 14/05/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Monica Brennan
Procedure:
In accordance with section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint.
At the time the hearing was due to commence, there was no appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent. The Complainant attended the hearing alone and presented as a litigant in person.
At the adjudication hearing, the Complainant was advised that hearings before the Workplace Relations Commission are held in public and, in most cases, decisions are not anonymised. The Adjudication Officer also advised that evidence is heard on oath or affirmation and the Complainant was sworn in.
The parties are named in the heading of this decision, but for ease of reference they are referred to as the Complainant and the Respondent throughout the body of this decision.
Where I deemed it necessary, I made my own inquiries to better understand the facts of the case and in fulfilment of my duties under statute.
Background:
At the time the hearing was due to commence, it was apparent that there was no appearance by or on behalf of the Respondent. I waited some time to accommodate any late arrival and confirmed that the hearing notification letter had issued to the registered address of the Respondent company. I also confirmed that no communication had been received from the Respondent on the morning of the hearing.
In the circumstances, and being satisfied that the Respondent was on notice of the date, time and venue of the hearing, it proceeded in the absence of the Respondent.
The Complainant gave evidence on his own behalf in relation to his complaint under the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 (the Act). |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant stated that he commenced work with the Respondent on 13th May, 2024 as a senior software engineer. He was paid his first wages on 23rd May 2024 and this amounted to €1,701.95 net. However, the Respondent then ceased to pay any other wages as and from that date. The Complainant has not received any other payment of wages from the Respondent. The Complainant provided an email from the Respondent dated 20th September, 2024 which stated the following: “Pay for last week (Today): € 2,000.35 Back pay (Monday) : € 18,003.15 Next Pay (Thursday - usual): € 2,000.35” The Complainant provided multiple payslips from the Respondent. Each payslip shows that the pay frequency is fortnightly and the gross amount due on each one is €2,500. The following are the dates of each payslip: 16th May 2024; 30th May 2024; 13th June 2024; 27th June 2024; 11th July 2024; 25th July 2024; 8th August 2024; 22nd August 2024; 5th September 2024; 19th September 2024; 3rd October 2024; 17th October 2024; 31st October 2024; 14th November 2024 and 28th November 22024. The Complainant gave evidence that he did not receive any payment of the above monies, with the exception of the one dated 16th May 2024, up to the date of the hearing. He further provided copies of his bank statements for the period May to December 2024 showing the payment on 23rd May 2024 and no further payments from the Respondent after that date. The Complainant stated that he ceased working with the Respondent at the end of November and submitted this complaint on 28th November 2024 in order to recover the wages that are due to him. The Complainant gave evidence of the significant negative impact that this situation had on his life, which was completely due to the failure of the Respondent to pay him what he was owed. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent was notified of the hearing arrangements by email dated 27th March 2025. The Respondent had provided consent to email communication on 13th March 2025 and the hearing notification letter was sent to the email address provided by the Respondent. I am satisfied that the Respondent was on notice of the time, date and venue of the hearing but did not attend. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Complainant claims that there was an underpayment of his salary for the period from May 2024 until November 2024 and that he is due his salary for that period. The Relevant Law The Act provides the following definition of “wages” at section 1: "wages", in relation to an employee, means any sums payable to the employee by the employer in connection with his employment, including— (a) any fee, bonus or commission, or any holiday, sick or maternity pay, or any other emolument, referable to his employment, whether payable under his contract of employment or otherwise, and (b) any sum payable to the employee upon the termination by the employer of his contract of employment without his having given to the employee the appropriate prior notice of the termination, being a sum paid in lieu of the giving of such notice: Sections 5(1) and 5(6) of the 1991 Act provides: 5(1) An employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee (or receive any payment from an employee) unless— (a) the deduction (or payment) is required or authorised to be made by virtue of any statute or any instrument made under statute, (b) the deduction (or payment) is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a term of the employee's contract of employment included in the contract before, and in force at the time of, the deduction or payment, or (c) in the case of a deduction, the employee has given his prior consent in writing to it. (2) … (3) … (4) … (5) … (6) Where— (a) the total amount of any wages that are paid on any occasion by an employer to an employee is less than the total amount of wages that is properly payable by him to the employee on that occasion (after making any deductions therefrom that fall to be made and are in accordance with this Act), or (b) none of the wages that are properly payable to an employee by an employer on any occasion (after making any such deductions as aforesaid) are paid to the employee, then, except in so far as the deficiency or non-payment is attributable to an error of computation, the amount of the deficiency or non-payment shall be treated as a deduction made by the employer from the wages of the employee on the occasion. It is apparent from the foregoing sections that where wages are properly payable the failure of an employer to pay such wages is an unlawful deduction. I am satisfied, based on the uncontested evidence of the Complainant, that his wages were properly payable and that he did not receive them from the Respondent, making this an unlawful deduction. I accept that the Complainant received payment for the payslip dated 16th May 2024. Based on the documentation provided and the uncontested evidence of the Complainant, I am also satisfied that he did not receive payment of the amounts outlined in the payslips dated 30th May 2024 to 28th November 2024. This comprises 14 payslips in all, each with a gross payment of €2,500. €2,500 x 14 = €35,000. Having regard to the Complainant’s evidence, I find that the total gross sum of €35,000 in respect of his pay was properly payable to the Complainant and was unlawfully deducted from his wages. I therefore find that the complaint is well founded. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
I decide that this complaint is well founded and I direct the Respondent to pay to the Complainant €35,000 gross less any lawful deductions. |
Dated: 01/08/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Monica Brennan
Key Words:
Payment of Wages – unlawful deduction |