WRC rejects UCC Academy CEO’s €6,512 bonus claim

The Workplace Relations Commission found that UCC Academy DAC was entitled to pay its chief executive, Arlene Vithaldas, a 4% bonus rather than the 10% she claimed. The decision, dated 9 August 2021, found her complaint under the Payment of Wages Act was not well founded. Vithaldas said the company’s performance policy entitled her to a full bonus and claimed €6,512. UCC Academy DAC argued that her contract made the bonus discretionary and that pandemic-related financial pressures supported the lower payment. The officer found that the policy did not apply to Vithaldas because her contract provided for a separate bonus scheme administered by the board. Her contract allowed the company discretion over the payment, which the officer found it exercised reasonably and fairly. The company could have paid no bonus but instead paid 4%.