ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00055864
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Larisa Goryacheva | Atlantic Ocean Sands Hotel Ltd. |
| Complainant | Respondent |
Anonymised Parties | {text} | {text} |
Representatives | In person | Jennifer Howley, General Manager of Respondent Hotel |
Complaint(s):
Act | Complaint/Dispute Reference No. | Date of Receipt |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00068000-001 | 11/12/2024 |
Date of (Remote) Adjudication Hearing: 21/05/2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
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.
Background:
This complaint is for an unlawful deduction that was made to the Complainant’s wages. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
Under Affirmation the Complainant gave the following evidence: 1. She commenced employment with the Respondent on 6.11.2024 in its hotel in Enniscrone, Co. Sligo. 2. She resigned four weeks later, on 29.11.2024 3. When she issued her WRC complaint, she had not received her full wages. In respect to the wages that she was later paid, unauthorised deductions were applied in respect of accommodation provided to her, but she was not informed in advance and nor did she ever agree that a charge would be levied against her wages, for accommodation. 4. She accepts that following the issue of her WRC complaint that she was paid her wages in full however she did not receive a return of the deductions that were made in respect of accommodation. 5. She was unable to provide documentary evidence to prove what deductions were made to her salary, but she thinks that it was around €100 per week, and she worked for 4 weeks so she expects that €400 was deducted from her ages, although she cannot be sure. 6. While she accepts that she was ultimately paid her wages, albeit not until after she issued a WRC complaint, the non-payment of her salary was a gross inconvenience for her. She had to borrow money at that time. She is unhappy with how she was treated by her employer in firstly delaying paying her and then applying an unauthorised deduction to her wages in respect of accommodation. 7. After the Respondent provided evidence at the Adjudication hearing of payslips and bank transfers that were made to her, the Complainant accepted that two electronic bank transfers were made to her on 21. 11 2024 and 18.12.2024. 8. These showed that for the first fortnight that she worked (4.11.2024 – 17.11.2024) she was paid a wage of €892.09 on 21.11.2024 with €50.00 being deducted from her gross salary for accommodation. For the second fortnight that she worked (18.11.2024 – 1.12.2024) she was paid a wage of €1308.16. She was not paid this second payment until 18.12.2024 and in this €100.00 was deducted from her basic or gross salary for accommodation. 9. She submits that the deductions in respect of accommodation which totalled €150.00 were never agreed to, were not in writing and were not signed by her. This is in breach of the Payment of Wages Act 1991. 10. She submits also that the two payslips were not transparent. They did not show that any deductions in respect of accommodation were being applied. Instead they just reduced her starting salary for each period by €50 and €100, they did not refer to accommodation costs, which she had not agreed to in any event. This is non-transparent and is illegal. 11. She seeks a decision that her WRC complaint is well founded and she seeks compensation.
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Summary of Respondent’s Case:
Under Affirmation the General Manager of the Hotel gave the following evidence: 1. She was on maternity leave when the Complainant was recruited and for the four weeks that the Complainant worked. 2. She accepts that the Complainant’s pay for the second fortnight that she worked, was paid late. 3. She provided evidence by pay slips and bank transfers to show that the Complainant’s wages were paid to her on 21.11.2024 and on 18.12.2024. She was not aware that the Complainant had issued a WRC complaint on 11.12.2024 because she returned from maternity leave after Christmas. So when the Complainant was paid her salary, while it was late, it was not paid only in response to the WRC complaint issuing. 4. She accepts that the Complainant was charged accommodation costs of €50 and €100 during the time that she worked with the Respondent and that her gross salary was in each pay slip reduced by €50 (first pay slip) and then €100 (second pay slip.) 5. She accepts that these deductions should not have been made because the Complainant did not agree to these deductions in writing or at all. 6. The Complainant’s first wages were paid to her on time but she accepts that her pay for her second fortnight was delayed. 7. She accepts the criticism that the Complainant did not agree in writing and accepts that the pay slip should transparently reflect any allowable deductions that are made. |
Findings and Conclusions:
At the outset of the Adjudication Hearing on the 21.5.2025 Respondent requested by way of preliminary application that the Respondent’s name be amended from Oceans Sands Hotel to Atlantic Ocean Sands Hotel Ltd which was acceded to. During the hearing the Complainant explained that she was unhappy about how she had been treated by the Respondent. In addition to what is recorded above she also gave evidence about treatment which fell outside the complaint that she brought in respect of payment of wages. The AO advised her that the only complaint that was before her and that she could investigate was her complaint under the Payment of Wages Act 1991 which the Complainant accepted. In respect of the failure to pay the Complainant her wages when they fell due the Respondent accepts that the payment for her second fortnight of work was paid late, however it was paid and the PWA does not make provision for redress for late payment of wages. The matter that remains to be considered is whether the deduction of €150 that was made for her accommodation constituted an unlawful deduction to her wages. Section 5 (1) of the Payment of Wages Act states that an Employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee unless the deduction is required by statute or is permitted by the terms of the employment contract or that the employee has consented to the deduction in writing. I am satisfied that any deduction from her wages for accommodation costs were not required by statute, set out in the employment contract, or was agreed in writing by the Complainant. I am satisfied that the criteria of section 5 (1) which could allow the Respondent to made a deduction to the Complainant’s wages have not been met. On this basis the complaint is well founded. Based on the documentary evidence provided by the Respondent I am satisfied that the accommodation charge that was levied against the Complainant’s basic salary was €150 - not €400.00 (as asserted by the Complainant.) I am satisfied that an unlawful deduction to the Complainant’s salary was applied by the Respondent. I am satisfied that this complaint is well founded. Section 6(2) (a) of the Payment of Wages Act, which sets out how an award is to be calculated, I award the Complainant compensation in the sum of €150.00, which is the wage that would have been paid to the Complainant if the deduction had not been made. I accept that the deduction was from the Complainant’s gross wage and that further (allowable) deductions would then likely have been applied to calculate the deduction in net-pay terms, however the amount of €150.00 is conceded by the Respondent and this is the amount that I consider to be a reasonable award. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s)/dispute(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
This complaint is well founded. I award the Complainant €150.00 |
Dated: 23-05-2025
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Emile Daly
Key Words:
Payment of Wages – Unlawful deduction for hotel worker accommodation |