ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00057909

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	Sofiia Piletskaia	Leeson Catering Limited

Representatives

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-00070289-001	26/03/2025

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 09/10/2025

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015following 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.

Specifically, I conducted a remote hearing in accordance with the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and Statutory Instrument 359/2020 which designates the Workplace Relations Commission as a body empowered to hold remote hearings.

The Complainant attended the hearing and gave evidence in relation to her complaint. Although I am satisfied that the Respondent was on notice of the hearing, they did not attend on the day.

Background:

The Complainant commenced her employment as a Waitress with the Respondent on 1 November 2024. She stated that she did not receive the wages she was entitled to for a number of weeks that she worked.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant stated that she did not receive the wages she was entitled to for a number of weeks that she worked for the Respondent. Specifically, she was not paid wages for 4 weeks, namely weeks 6, 11, 12 and 13, that she worked which meant that there was a shortfall in the wages that she was due in the amount of €1,162.53

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Respondent was on notice they did not attend the hearing,

Findings and Conclusions:

Section 1 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 (“the Act”) defines wages as:

“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,”

In Marek Balans -v- Tesco Ireland Limited [2020] IEHC 55 approving Dunnes Stores (Cornels court) Limited -v- Lacey [2007] 1 1.R. 478, it was stated that a decision-maker must firstly determine what wages are properly payable under the employment contract before determining whether there has been a deduction under the Payment of Wages Act 1991. While each case will turn on its own particular facts, it is necessary to ascertain, in the instant case, (1) whether the pay constituted a term of the Complainant’s contract and (2) if has there been a contravention of Section 5 of the Act.

Given the uncontradicted evidence of the Complainant, I am satisfied that she was not paid in the amount of €1,162.53 that she was owed in wages by the Respondent.

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 find that the complaint is well founded for the reasons set out above and order that the Respondent makes a payment of €1,162.53 net to the Complainant.

Dated: 10-10-25

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Breiffni O'Neill

Key Words: