ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION

Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00060752

Parties:

	Complainant	Respondent
Parties	Khelifa Amrouche	Bd Partitions & Ceilings Limited

Representatives

Self Represented

Owner

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-00073564-001	18/07/2025
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under Section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.	CA-00073564-002	18/07/2025

Date of Adjudication Hearing: 30/03/2026

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien

Procedure:

In accordance with Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015following the referral of the complaints to me by the Director General, I inquired into the complaints and gave the parties an opportunity to be heard by me and to present to me any evidence relevant to the complaints.

This matter was heard by way of remote hearing pursuant to the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and SI 359/20206, which designates the WRC as a body empowered to hold remote hearings. In deference to the Supreme Court ruling, Zalewski v Ireland and the WRC [2021] IESC 24 on the 6th of April 2021 the Parties were informed in advance that the Hearing would be in Public, Testimony under Oath or Affirmation would be required and full cross examination of all witnesses would be provided for. The Hearing too place completely in public and the required Affirmation / Oath was administered to all witnesses. The legal perils of committing Perjury were explained to all parties. Full cross examination of Witnesses was allowed. The evidence of the Complainant was assisted by an Interpreter who took the WRC Affirmation for Interpreters.

Background:

The Complainant was employed for two weeks as a Fitter and claimed he did not receive his proper wages due and that he did not receive a written statement of his terms of employment.

Summary of Complainant’s Case:

The Complainant was employed as a Fitter from 24/3/2025 to 4/4/2025.

The Complainant claimed he did not receive pay earned of 570 Euros Gross (543.78 net) due to the Respondent deducting accommodation costs from his wages without agreement.

The Complainant claimed he did not receive a written statement of his terms of employment.

Summary of Respondent’s Case:

The Respondent advised that he had difficulty with the Complainant because he did not speak English and that he had verbally agreed with the Complainant that his accommodation cost would be deducted from his wages.

Findings and Conclusions:

The Complainant, with the assistance of an Interpreter gave evidence to the Hearing. He advised he completed a Course in Gypsum Boards with CMBT and lived in Cavan and was assigned on completion of the course to work with the Respondent in Ennis. He was not paid his second weeks wages and he stated the owner, Mr. Donnelly, told him the Company had to pay for his hotel accommodation at 40 Euros per night and this would be deducted from his wages. The Complainant contested that he had agreed this with the Owner or with the CMBT Tutor and advised under affirmation that he had not received any terms of employment and that he had not signed any document to authorise the deduction of money for accommodation. The Complainant advised he had a friend at work that translated everything for him into English. The Complainant stated the Tutor or nobody on the course mentioned to him that the accommodation costs would be deducted from wages.

Mr. Barry Donnelly, Owner of the Respondent, gave evidence that he had difficulty in communication with the Complainant. He stated he told the Complainant when he started work he had to get someone to translate things for him. He advised it happened a few times that the Complainant did not understand what he was being told in English. He stated the CMBT Tutor tried to explain everything to the Complainant but he thought the Complainant did not understand the information. The Respondent confirmed he did not have a signed document authoring the deduction from wages for the accommodation costs. The Respondent confirmed he deducted 40 Euros per night for 6 nights accommodation plus what was owed for the first week accommodation and this was the reason the second week was not paid. The Respondent confirmed he did not give the Complainant a written contract of employment but that he had provided them to all other staff.

Decision:

Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the complaints in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 states the following:

“ 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

(2) An employer shall not make a deduction from the wages of an employee in respect of—

(a) any act or omission of the employee, or

(b) any goods or services supplied to or provided for the employee by the employer the supply or provision of which is necessary to the employment,

unless—

(i) the deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of a term (whether express or implied and, if express, whether oral or in writing) of the contract of employment made between the employer and the employee, and

(ii) the deduction is of an amount that is fair and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances (including the amount of the wages of the employee), and

(iii) before the time of the act or omission or the provision of the goods or services, the employee has been furnished with—

(I) in case the term referred to in subparagraph (i) is in writing, a copy thereof,

(II) in any other case, notice in writing of the existence and effect of the term,

And

(iv) in case the deduction is in respect of an act or omission of the employee, the employee has been furnished, at least one week before the making of the deduction, with particulars in writing of the act or omission and the amount of the deduction, and

(v) in case the deduction is in respect of compensation for loss or damage sustained by the employer as a result of an act or omission of the employee, the deduction is of an amount not exceeding the amount of the loss or the cost of the damage, and

(vi) in case the deduction is in respect of goods or services supplied or provided as aforesaid, the deduction is for an amount not exceeding the cost to the employer of the goods or services, and

(vii) the deduction or, if the total amount payable to the employer by the employee in respect of the act or omission or the goods or services is to be so paid by means of more than one deduction from the wages of the employee, the first such deduction is made not later than 6 months after the act or omission becomes known to the employer or, as the case may be, after the provision of the goods or services.

(3) (a) An employer shall not receive a payment from an employee in respect of a matter referred to in subsection (2) unless, if the payment were a deduction, it would comply with that subsection.

(b) Where an employer receives a payment in accordance with paragraph (a) he shall forthwith give a receipt for the payment to the employee.”

Decision: It was the responsibility of the Respondent to make every effort to ensure the Complainant knew exactly what the agreement was when he commenced employment given his lack of English. As the Respondent did not have either authorisation through a written term of employment or a written authorisation or an oral agreement to make the deduction for the accommodation then the deduction was not legally provided for. I find the complaint well founded and award the Complainant 570 Euros Gross to be paid to the Complainant within 30 days of todays date. (CA-00073564-001)

The 1994 Terms of Employment Act (as amended) requires an Employer to “ Without prejudice to subsection (1), an employer shall, not later than 5 days after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say:

(a) the full names of the employer and the employee;

(b) the address of the employer in the State or, where appropriate, the address of the principal place of the relevant business of the employer in the State or the registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act 2014);

(c) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the expected duration thereof or, if the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the date on which the contract expires;

[(d) the remuneration, including the initial basic amount, any other component elements, if applicable, indicated separately, the frequency and method of payment of the remuneration to which the employee is entitled and the pay reference period for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000;]

(e) the number of hours which the employer reasonably expects the employee to work—

(i) per normal working day, and

(ii) per normal working week

[(f) where sections 4B to 4E (in so far as they are in operation) of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 apply to the employer, the employer’s policy on the manner in which tips or gratuities and mandatory charges (within the meaning of section 1 of that Act) are treated,

(g) the place of work or, where there is no fixed or main place of work, a statement specifying that the employee is employed at various places or is free to determine his or her place of work or to work at various places;

(h) either—

(i) the title, grade, nature or category of work for which the employee is employed, or

(ii) a brief specification or description of the work;

(i) the date of commencement of the employee’s contract of employment;

(j) any terms or conditions relating to hours of work (including overtime);

(k) where a probationary period applies, its duration and conditions.”

However Section 7 states “Complaint to Adjudication Officer under section 41 of Workplace Relations Act 2015

7.—(1) An employee shall not be entitled to present a complaint under section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 in respect of a contravention of section 3, 4, 5 or 6, if the employer concerned has—

(a) complied with a direction under section 6A given in relation to the contravention before, on or after the commencement of section 8 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015], or

(b) been given a direction under that section in relation to the contravention and the period specified in the direction within which he or she is required to comply with the direction has not yet expired.

(1A) An employee shall not be entitled to present a complaint under Part 4 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 in respect of a contravention of section 3(1A)—

(a) unless the employee has been in the continuous service of the employer for more than 1 month, or

(b) if the employer concerned has been prosecuted for an offence under this Act in relation to the same contravention “

Decision; As the Complainant did not have one months service he is not eligible to proceed with a complaint under the Act and therefore his complaint is statue barred and not well founded. (CA-00073564-002)

Dated: 10-04-26

Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Peter O'Brien

Key Words:

Payment of Wages