The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Oleg Bitu €1,832.19 in compensation after upholding several employment complaints against John Kenny Haulage Limited. The decision was dated 31 March 2023.
The WRC also awarded €1,000 for an annual leave complaint, €500 for a public holiday complaint and €1,000 each for complaints about excessive working hours and mobile road transport rules. It ordered the company to pay €245 for an unlawful wage deduction and €1,221.46 in wages owed when Bitu’s employment ended.
The WRC found the complaint about unpaid waiting time was brought outside the time limit and was not well founded; the merits were not decided. It also found complaints about Sunday work, weekly rest and constructive dismissal not well founded. On the dismissal complaint, it said Bitu had not met the burden of proof, noting that a meeting after his resignation focused on pay and did not address his workplace concerns.
Bitu had alleged failures to provide statutory entitlements and rest periods, as well as constructive dismissal. The company conceded some claims and disputed others. The WRC found it had breached the rules requiring employers to provide written terms, after the company could not produce a signed contract.