Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Joanna  Ruszkowska

Davsea Ltd.

[Amended on Consent]

Representatives

 Self-represented

Self-represented/Internal HR

Act

Complaint Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00074710-001

22/08/2025

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 6 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991

CA-00074710-002

22/08/2025

The Complainant gave evidence on her own behalf at the hearing. She worked for the Respondent company from 21/07/2025 – 10/08/2025. Her complaint was that she had not been paid her last week’s wages, in the amount of €392.25. She acknowledged at the hearing, that she had since been paid in full, by the Respondent.

The Respondent submits that the Complainant has been paid in full, and nothing ‘properly payable’ is outstanding to her, under the Payment of Wages Act 1991. It submits that the Complainant quit the role with no notice, had initially not returned her uniform, and that there is a provision in the Employee Handbook setting out that the last week’s wages are payable by cheque. Subsequent to the Complainant quitting her job, she left the country. There was a delay in her returning the uniform and her being in a position to collect the cheque. Ultimately, the Respondent paid the Complainant the full amount (minus no deduction for uniform, which had been returned by post) by bank transfer on 4/9/2025.

The Complainant gave evidence on her own behalf. A Polish language interpreter assisted with translation.

The Complainant confirmed that the complaint she had filed pertained to her final week’s wages, which she said was in the amount of €392.25

In response to a query from the Adjudication Officer, the Complainant confirmed that she had been paid in full. She said, however, that the payment was not made when it was supposed to have been made.

In response to the submissions of the Respondent, the Complainant disputed that the return of her uniform was set out in her contract. She said that when she first contacted the company, the manager never said anything about returning the staff uniform. She said there was no information about that. She said that the only information she received in relation to that was after she mentioned that she did not receive her money (wages).

She further disputed the submission that she was told that the last payment is made by cheque, to be collected from Mr. David Ryan, in the cash office. She said that after she returned her uniform, she did not receive any information that he had to go to a meeting to pick up her money. She said she was ‘sent from one person to another’, that she was then given the information that she would be paid €350 euro which would have been less than her payslip. [The Complainant confirmed she had received €392.25, the full amount.]

She said that it was not in her contract.

The Complainant also expressed the view that she felt taken advantage of due to English not being her first language, and therefore potentially being someone who may be unaware of her rights.

Ms. Caroline Baker, HR Manager for the Respondent, presented the submissions on behalf of the Respondent. Mr. David Ryan, Director/Owner of the Respondent company attended at the hearing too.

Written submissions along with supporting documentation were submitted prior to the hearing by the Respondent. The Adjudication Officer requested a copy of the Employee Handbook be submitted in full, also, which the Respondent did.

As per the Respondent’s written submissions

The Complainant was employed as a Fast Food Assistant from 21st July 2025 to 10th August 2025.

The Complainant resigned her employment by text message on 11th August 2025, without notice citing personal reasons for her resignation. (Copy of the text messages submitted)  

The Respondent accepted the Complainant’s resignation via text message and thanked her for her time with the company.

The Complainant texted the Respondent on 15th August 2025 requesting her pay from 4th August 2025 to 10th August 2025 to which the Respondent responded and advised her that as she had left without notice and had not yet returned her uniform her wages were suspended pending return of all company property including her uniform. 

The Respondent submits that on 22nd July 2025, the Complainant signed a uniform receipt which stated that the uniform must be returned upon termination of employment. (Copy of uniform receipt submitted)

The Complainant confirmed via text message on 16th August 2025 that the uniform had been returned, and questioned as to why it was not requested that she return the uniform. The Complainant requested that the money be sent through to her immediately. The Respondent asked the Complainant to communicate via email moving forward.

 On 2nd September 2025, the Respondent sent through the pay slip to the Complainant. The Respondent also confirmed on 2nd September 2025 that all final payments are processed via cheque and that the cheque was available from the Inver Service Station. The Respondent asked the Complainant to confirm who would be collecting the cheque and when so as to arrange that it was available for the Complainant. The Complainant responded to the Respondent on 2nd September and confirmed that she was no longer in Fermoy and would not be returning. The Respondent advised that the payment would then be processed via the bank and should be with her by Monday at the latest depending on her bank.

The Respondent can confirm that the Complainant has received all final pay which was processed to her on 4th September 2025. The Respondent submits that the Complainant is not owed any further payment and all outstanding payments were made to the Complainant following the return of all Company Property as per Company Policies & Procedures.

The Respondent submits that the Complainant signed and agreed acceptance of the Employee Handbook on 22nd July 2025. (Copy of Handbook receipt submitted)

The Respondent submits that the Complainant has received all outstanding payments in relation to her employment with the Respondent, and that there are no outstanding payments owed to the Complainant.

At the hearing

It was outlined on behalf of the Respondent, that the Complainant worked for the Respondent for three weeks, that she was in a customer facing role until 10th August, 2025; that she resigned with immediate effect via text message on 11th August, 2025. It was outlined that wages are paid in arrears. The following week, the company had not received the uniform back, and the Complainant was not paid in that week’s payroll. It is submitted that the week after that, the uniform was received on August 19th, and the wages for that week had already been processed. So, again, the Complainant was not paid, in that week’s payroll.

It was explained to the Complainant that she had to call in to Mr. David Ryan, Director, to collect her final week’s wages by cheque, when there were queries from the Complainant as to why the company had her money and why she had not yet been paid. The Respondent submits that when an employee leaves, it pays their final wages by cheque because the employee has been removed from the bank system. At this point, the Complainant confirmed to the Respondent that she was not in Fermoy. The company asked whether there was anyone who could pick up the cheque for her. The company then processed the Complainant’s final week’s wages, in the full amount (€392.25) by bank transfer on September 4th, 2025.

In response to some queries from the Adjudication Officer at hearing, the company submitted that it was relying upon:-

1.       The fact that it can make deductions from wages, in line with the Payment of Wages Act 1991, and the terms of the Complainant’s employment contract which sets out under the heading ‘Deductions from Wages’, at page 3 of the contract: ‘The Employer reserves the right and the Employee irrevocably authorises the Employer, at any time during the Employee's employment, or in any event upon termination, to deduct from the Employee’s wages/salary and/or any other monies due to the Employee, an amount equivalent to any of the following:

(i)      any overpayment of wages, salary, remuneration or other payment made to the Employee during the course of this employment;

(ii)    the amount of any expenses claimed by the Employee and paid but subsequently disallowed by the Employer

(iii)   any cost of repairing any damage to or loss of property of, any fines or charges imposed upon or any other loss sustained by the Employer or any third party, caused by the Employee's breach of contract or breach of the Employer's rules or as a result of the Employee's negligence or dishonesty.’

2.       The Employee Handbook at page 101, in which under the heading of ‘Company Property’ it sets out:- ‘On leaving the Company you must return your uniform, locker key and any other items of Company property you have in your possession to your manager. Any items lost or misplaced, will be charged to the employee through their wages.’

3.       The Complainant’s signed receipt for uniform, signed at induction (copy of receipt submitted), and

4.       The Employee Handbook at page 101, which sets out, at the last sentence, under the heading ‘Resignation’: ‘Your final wages will be processed in the form of a cheque. This can be collected from the cash office once all uniform and name badge have been returned.’

The Adjudication Officer requested that the Respondent submit a full copy of the 2024 Handbook (which is the applicable one) and allowed a week after the hearing in which to do so. The Respondent submitted it the day after the hearing.

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 provides in part, as follows:-

(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

(c) in the case of a deduction, the employee has given his prior consent in writing to it.

(6) Where—

(a) the total amount of any wages that are paid on any occasion by an employer to an employee is less than the total amount of wages that is properly payable by him to the employee on that occasion (after making any deductions therefrom that fall to be made and are in accordance with this Act), or

(b) none of the wages that are properly payable to an employee by an employer on any occasion (after making any such deductions as aforesaid) are paid to the employee,

then, except in so far as the deficiency or non-payment is attributable to an error of computation, the amount of the deficiency or non-payment shall be treated as a deduction made by the employer from the wages of the employee on the occasion.

Pay is a fundamental term of any contract of employment. While the delay in payment to the Complainant is unsatisfactory, I find that no deductions were made from her final paycheque and no monies ‘properly payable’ under the Payment of Wages Act 1991 remain due and owing to her. She has been paid in full, as of 4/9/2025, which she acknowledged at hearing.

CA-00074710-001 – This complaint is a duplicate complaint. I find that this complaint is not well founded.

CA-00074710-002 – The Complainant has been paid in full, which she acknowledged at hearing. Nothing remains outstanding to her, which is ‘properly payable’, under the Payment of Wages Act 1991. I therefore find that this complaint is not well founded.

Pay