ADJUDICATION OFFICER DECISION
Adjudication Reference: ADJ-00064086
Parties:
| Complainant | Respondent |
Parties | Giovanni Andrade | All Dogs Go Fetch Limited |
Representatives |
|
|
Complaint:
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-00077732-001 | 19/11/2025 |
Date of Adjudication Hearing: 23/07/2026
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Penelope McGrath
Procedure:
In accordance with Section 41(4) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 an employee can present a complaint or complaints of any perceived contravention by his or her Employer of any of the Acts (Statutes) contained in Schedule 5 of the Workplace Relations Act of 2015. Any such complaint (usually presented in the format of a workplace relations complaint form) is made to the Director General of the WRC. The said Director General can then refer the complaint to the Adjudication services. It is in these circumstances that this matter has come before me - an Adjudication Officer -engaged by the Adjudication division of the WRC to make all relevant inquiries into the complaint or complaints made. Where appropriate, I hear the parties’ oral evidence, and I can give consideration to any supporting evidence provided by witnesses or relevant documentation.
In this instance the Complainant has brought a complaint of a contravention of Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, that is, a complaint of an unlawful deduction having been made from the Employee’s wage. The Payment of Wages Act seeks to ensure that an employer must pay wages that are properly payable to an employee. Pursuant to Section 6 of the said 1991 Act, and in circumstances where the Adjudicator finds that the complaint of a contravention of Section 5 aforesaid is deemed to be well founded, then the Adjudicator can direct that the employer pay to the employee an amount which is subject to the limits set out in Section 6 of the 1991 Payment of Wages Act 1991.
It should be noted that a non-payment of wages that are properly payable on a given occasion shall be treated as a deduction made by the employer from the wages of the employee on that occasion (per Section 5(6)).
By way of preliminary observation, I am satisfied that a Contract of Employment existed between the parties such that a wage defined by the 1991 Act was payable to the Employee by the Employer in connection with the employment. I further find that the Complainant’s Workplace Relations Complaint Form dated the 19th of November 2025 initially gives rise to a cognisable period of six months starting from the 20th of May 2024 to the 19th of November 2025.
Background:
This hearing was conducted in person in the Workplace Relations Commission situate in Lansdowne Road, Dublin. In line with the Supreme Court decision in the constitutional case of Zalewski -v- An Adjudication Officer and the Workplace Relations Commission and Ireland and the Attorney General [2021] IESC 24 (delivered on the 6th of April 2021) the hearing was conducted in recognition of the fact that the proceedings constitute the administration of Justice. It was therefore open to members of the public to attend this hearing. The specific details of the complaint are outlined in the Workplace Relations Complaint Form which was received by the WRC on the 19th of November 2025. |
Summary of Complainant’s Case:
The Complainant was not represented and provided his own account of the facts of the dispute that has brought these parties together before the WRC. The Complainant came alone. The Complainant provided supporting documents when he first issued his complaint form. The Complaint Form is dated the 19th day of November 2025. The Complainant provided further documentation on the hearing date. In particular I had sight of the Complainant’s payslip verifying the fact of an Employee/Employer relationship. The Complainant alleges that his Employer failed to pay his final wages and set out his complaint as follows:- My name is Giovanni Lucas de Andrade (Employment ID: EMPID2500011). I worked at All Dogs Go To Fetch from 14 August 2025 to 4 October 2025. I have not received my final payment for the last week of work (€514,75), and I have also not been paid my outstanding holiday pay. According to my records, I worked a total of 227 hours at €14.50 per hour. Based on Irish employment law (Organization of Working Time Act 1997), I am entitled to 8% of the hours worked as holiday pay, which equals **18.16 hours (€263.32)**. I have archived all email confirmations from my employer, Ms. Krystal Delayed, in which she clearly acknowledged the amount owed and stated that the payment would be made. However, the payment for my last week of work, as well as the holiday pay, was never issued. I attempted to resolve the matter directly with Ms. Krystal, but all attempts at conciliation were unsuccessful. She refused to fulfil her obligation to pay the wages and entitlements owed to me. Furthermore, the employer made threats towards me, stating that if I pursued my legal rights, she would “cause problems” for me. I am therefore requesting the assistance of the Workplace Relations Commission in recovering the unpaid wages and holiday pay that I am legally entitled to. A formal letter and an email requesting payment were sent to this contact, but no response or resolution was received. |
Summary of Respondent’s Case:
The Respondent did not attend. I am satisfied that the Respondent was notified of the date, time and venue for this hearing by a letter sent from the WRC - dated the 3rd of June 2026 - and posted to the workplace address which is also the registered office of the company herein. The letter was delivered and the company is noted to be operational. |
Findings and Conclusions:
The Complainant worked as a skilled Dog Groomer with the Respondent parlour. The Complainant gave unchallenged evidence concerning the non-payment of his final wages. In the circumstances I am finding as a matter of fact that the Complainant is owed the monies set out in his workplace relations complaint form. |
Decision:
Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 requires that I make a decision in relation to the within complaint in accordance with the relevant redress provisions under Schedule 6 of that Act.
Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 CA-00077732-001 – The complaint herein is well founded and I direct that the Respondent does pay to the Complainant the sum of €779.00.
|
Dated: 13th of August 2026
Workplace Relations Commission Adjudication Officer: Penelope McGrath
Key Words:
|