WRC orders insurer to pay former claims handler €5,118.28 over pay cut

The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Xs Direct Insurance Brokers Limited to pay former claims handler Sarah Conway €5,118.28, less statutory deductions, after finding an unauthorised pay cut was an unlawful deduction from wages. In a decision dated 9 March 2023, the WRC found that the 15% reduction continued until her pay was restored in February 2022. Conway said she had not agreed to the cut, which the company introduced in April 2020 and initially planned to keep for six months. The receiver said the claims related to a period before its appointment and that it would not take part in the hearings. The company was in receivership and did not attend the hearing.