ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00051779
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Thompson Chidi Ihunanya | Bgs Security Limited Bgss / Best Guards Security Services |
Representatives | Alice Kavanagh North Dublin Citizens Information Service | Did not attend. |
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-00063396-002 | 10/05/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 45A of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 | CA-00063396-003 | 10/05/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 27 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 | CA-00063396-004 | 10/05/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00063396-005 | 10/05/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 | CA-00063396-006 | 10/05/2024 |
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 | CA-00063396-007 | 10/05/2024 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 12/12/2024
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Jim Dolan
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 following the referral of the complaint(s) to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaint(s) and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaint(s).
Background:
The complainant was employed by the respondent as a security guard. Employment commenced on 12th November 2023 and ended on 7th March 2024. This complaint was received by the Workplace Relations Commission on 10th May 2024. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
Background 1. The complainant started working for the respondent on 12/11/2023. He worked as a security guard. 2. The respondent operates a business providing security services to businesses. Their business name on their website is BGSS, which stands for Best Guard(s) Security Services. 3. The complainant worked in various retail locations for customers of the respondent. He was a diligent employee, readily available and worked both day and night shifts. 4. The complainant experienced ongoing issues with his wages. He was paid late, in a piecemeal fashion and when paid it was not the full correct amount. 5. The complainant tried to resolve the issues with the respondent but said there was always an excuse and a promise about when he would be paid. 6. The complainant’s last day of work was 31/01/2024. He told the respondent he needed to be paid for work done in December 2023 before he could continue working into February 2024, as it was not sustainable to work without proper pay for so long. 7. The complainant came to the Citizens Information Service for assistance. The CIS emailed the respondent on 16/02/2024 but did not receive a reply. 8. The complainant gave his notice to the respondent on 07/03/2024, as he did not foresee an improvement to the ongoing issues of being paid late and not receiving the full correct amount when paid. 9. The CIS continued to contact the respondent by email and phone to try to obtain the complainant’s outstanding entitlements, which then also included payment for annual leave on cessation of employment. The respondent was put on notice of an impending complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. The respondent only spoke with the CIS once and ignored most of their emails. In their limited engagement, the respondent committed to checking and paying the complainant what he was owed but this did not happen. 10. Complaints were submitted to the WRC on 10/05/2024. The CIS informed the respondent that the complainant was still open to resolving the issues. Details of Individual Complaints and the Relevant Law Complaint CA-00063396-002 11. The complainant is withdrawing this complaint for €50 pay. It arose due to confusion about pay for December 2024, part of which was paid supposedly as an advance. The advance of €650 was lodged to his bank account in two separate payments of €50 and €600 on different dates, so he overlooked the lodgement of €50.
Complaint CA-00063396-003 12. This complaint relates to non-payment of unsocial hours premium, in accordance with Statutory Instrument No. 424 of 2023 – Employment Regulation Order (Security Industry Joint Labour Committee) 2023, which was in force at the time. 13. During November 2023, December 2023 and January 2024, the complainant asserts he worked 30 shifts where he should have been paid an unsocial hours premium of €8.40 per shift. He therefore submits he is owed €252 for this breach.
Complaint CA-00063396-007 14. Complaint 007 is being addressed before complaint 004, as the outcome of this complaint is relevant to complaint 004. 15. Complaint 007 is for non-payment of 6 hours worked in January 2024. The complainant asserts these 6 hours are properly payable to him in accordance with the Payment of Wages Act 1991, as amended. In one of (only) two emails to the CIS, the respondent states the complainant was not paid for 6 hours in January 2024 as he was late for work amounting to 6 hours. The complainant strenuously denies this and says if anything he was usually early for work. Furthermore, in their second more recent email to the CIS dated 11/11/2024, in response to a final attempt letter sent to the director on 07/11/2024, the respondent commits to paying the complainant an amount including the 6 hours so they have therefore acknowledged the 6 hours are due. As his rate of pay was €12.90 per hour, the complainant submits he is owed €77.40 for this breach. Complaint CA-00063396-004 16. This complaint relates to annual leave entitlement. The relevant legislation is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, as amended. In particular, Section 19 (1) with regard to entitlement of annual leave and Section 23 (1) (a) regarding payment of annual leave on cessation of employment. 17. The complainant did not take any holidays during his employment with the respondent. He was therefore due payment for annual leave on cessation of employment. The complainant submits he was entitled to an annual leave payment of €684.99. He asks that the Adjudication Officer award an appropriate amount of compensation for this breach as allowed for under Section 27 of the Act. Complaint CA-00063396-005 18. The complainant did not receive a written statement of his terms of employment within one month, or at any point, in accordance with Section 3 (1) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, as amended. 19. The complainant asks that the Adjudication Officer award an appropriate remedy for this breach as allowed for under Section 7 (2) of the Act. Complaint CA-00063396-006 20. The complainant did not receive a written statement of his core terms of employment within five days, or at any point, in accordance with Section 3 (1A) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, as amended. 21. As he worked for the respondent for more than one month, he is entitled under Section 7 (1A) (a) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, as amended, to make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. 22. The complainant asks that the Adjudication Officer award an appropriate remedy for this breach as allowed for under Section 7 (2) of the Act.
Conclusion 23. The complainant submits he has suffered breaches of his statutory employment rights as detailed above. 24. The complainant respectfully asks that the Adjudication Officer award appropriate remedies for each breach. 25. Thank you for your attention and consideration of the complainant’s case. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
I am satisfied that the respondent received a letter dated 16th October 2024. Said letter contained all the arrangements for the hearing that took place on 12th December 2024. |
Findings and Conclusions:
Complaint CA-00063396-002 - complaint withdrawn. Complaint CA-00063396-003 This complaint relates to non-payment of unsocial hours premium, in accordance with Statutory Instrument No. 424 of 2023 – Employment Regulation Order (Security Industry Joint Labour Committee) 2023, which was in force at the time. During November 2023, December 2023 and January 2024, the complainant asserts he worked 30 shifts where he should have been paid an unsocial hours premium of €8.40 per shift. He therefore submits he is owed €252 for this breach. I find that this complaint is well found and now order the respondent to make the payment of €252.00 to the complainant. This payment should be made within 42 days from the date of this decision.
Complaint CA-00063396-007
Complaint 007 is for non-payment of 6 hours worked in January 2024. As his rate of pay was €12.90 per hour, the complainant submits he is owed €77.40 for this breach. I now order the respondent to pay the complainant the sum of €77.40 in relation to this complaint. Such payment should be made within 42 days from the date of this decision.
Complaint CA-00063396-004 This complaint relates to annual leave entitlement. The complainant did not take any holidays during his employment with the respondent. He was therefore due payment for annual leave on cessation of employment. The complainant submits he was entitled to an annual leave payment of €684.99. This complaint is well found and I now order the respondent to pay the complainant €684.99 in relation to this complaint. This sum should be paid within 42 days from the date of this decision. In addition to the above award which basically is an amount already earned by the complainant I order the respondent to pay an amount of €3,000 to the complainant in compensation. Again, this amount should be paid within 42 days from the date of this decision. Complaint CA-00063396-005 The complainant did not receive a written statement of his terms of employment within one month, or at any point, in accordance with Section 3 (1) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, as amended. In accordance with section 7 (2) (d) of the Act I now order the respondent to pay a sum of €2,064.00 (four weeks’ pay) in compensation for this breach of legislation. Such payment should be made within 42 days from the date of this decision.
Complaint CA-00063396-006 The complainant did not receive a written statement of his core terms of employment within five days, or at any point, in accordance with Section 3 (1A) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, as amended.
I have awarded the maximum amount under this enactment (CA – 00063396 – 005) and would state that this amount should cover both breaches.
I have addressed each complaint individually and would think that all these breaches are breaches of very basic employment rights that no employer should have a problem achieving full compliance with. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaint(s) in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
As outlined above. |
Dated: 09-10-25
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Jim Dolan
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