A WRC adjudication officer awarded a stable hand €21,372.83 in minimum-wage arrears and ordered compensation for employment breaches, including €16,305.60 for unpaid annual leave. The decision was dated 9 March 2023.
The worker said he worked long hours, including 13 days in a fortnight, without proper annual leave or Sunday compensation. He also said he was dismissed after a WRC inspection and left without work or accommodation. The employer did not attend the hearing.
The officer found eight complaints well founded: annual leave, employment terms, weekly rest, excessive working hours, minimum wage, Sunday premium, unfair dismissal and minimum notice. Awards included €2,284.80 for the employment-terms breach, €15,000 each for weekly-rest and working-hours breaches, €1,000 for Sunday working, €14,280 for unfair dismissal and €1,142.40 in lieu of two weeks’ notice.
The public-holiday complaint was not well founded because no public holiday fell between the start of the relevant period and the worker’s dismissal.