The Workplace Relations Commission upheld three complaints by former HL Commodity Foods Ltd business development director Robert Evans, including claims over reduced salary and unpaid commission. It awarded him the euro equivalent of net wages of £1,000 a month for the relevant salary-reduction period, calculated pro rata, and the euro equivalent of net wages of £5,389 in commission. The decision was dated 6 March 2023.
Evans said he had earned a £70,000 salary plus commission. The company disputed that commission was part of his contract and argued the complaints were out of time or outside the WRC’s jurisdiction. The adjudicator upheld the salary-reduction claim for 30 December 2020 to 12 March 2021, noting there was no written agreement to the reductions and no contradictory evidence. The commission claim related to a sum identified in an email dated 29 January 2021.
The WRC also upheld a complaint under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, but found compensation was not just and equitable because Evans was on the decision-making team and knew the reason for the reductions. Two other complaints, concerning an alleged €11,600 deduction and further commission, were not well founded. The WRC found both were outside its time jurisdiction.