WRC directs XS Direct Insurance Brokers to pay €5,130.01 over wage cuts

The Workplace Relations Commission directed XS Direct Insurance Brokers Ltd to pay Simon Thomson €5,130.01, less statutory deductions, after finding that a unilateral pay cut resulted in wages below the amount contractually due. The decision was dated 30 March 2023. Thomson said the employer cut his pay by 15% without his agreement. The reduction continued for six months, and his pay was restored in February 2022. The respondent did not attend the hearing; the WRC considered Thomson’s payslips and other evidence. The WRC treated two duplicate Payment of Wages Act complaints as one and found the complaint well founded. The award covered the wages unlawfully deducted.