The Workplace Relations Commission awarded nurse Lucy Jackson €300 and €100 after finding her public holiday pay should reflect her normal 10-hour working day. The decision, dated 4 October 2023, also requires Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin to calculate her entitlement under the statutory rules.
Jackson usually worked four 10-hour shifts between Monday and Friday. Her employer calculated public holiday entitlement by dividing weekly hours by five, but she argued that where she was normally required to work on a public holiday, payment should reflect her 10-hour day. The WRC accepted that her work pattern and fixed hourly rate were predictable and consistent.
The decision says the relevant rule bases public holiday pay on the employee’s normal daily hours last worked before the holiday when the employee works, or is normally required to work, that day. It found that contractual or collective arrangements could not reduce Jackson’s statutory entitlement. On one complaint, the €300 compensation included €164.52 in actual loss; on another, it awarded €100.
Two related Payment of Wages complaints were partly well founded. The WRC made no additional compensation award on those complaints because their facts overlapped with the working-time claims and further compensation would amount to double recovery.