The Workplace Relations Commission found that a Bus Éireann driver was not entitled to higher assault assistance pay because he had not appealed the change to his occupational injury benefit. In a decision dated 24 September 2021, the WRC found Roger Rabbitte’s Payment of Wages complaint against Córas Iompair Éireann Bus Éireann - Irish Bus not well founded.
Rabbitte said the company should have told him he could appeal the move from assistance pay based on average earnings to occupational injury benefit based on basic pay. The change followed an assault by a passenger. He said he learned about the appeal option only after returning to work and argued that an appeal might have extended the higher payment.
The company said Rabbitte had received the sickness payments due under its schemes and had been informed about his scheme and its effect on his pay. The WRC found that the higher payment required an appeal and was subject to management discretion. As Rabbitte did not appeal, the WRC concluded that no wages properly payable to him had been deducted.