The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Maria Ferreira €1,752 for unpaid wages and €1,308 for an annual leave breach in a decision dated 21 March 2023. The WRC found Recruitcare Hr Solutions Limited owed her wages after she worked for the company for about six weeks in November and December 2021.
Ferreira said she had agreed to work three days a week for €12 an hour and carried out ordinary office duties. The company described her as an intern or someone on unpaid work experience. The adjudication officer found an employment contract existed and calculated 146 working hours after deducting breaks, resulting in €1,752 in wages owed.
The officer also found that Ferreira was entitled to payment for unused annual leave when her employment ended. The leave was calculated at about 11.5 hours, or €138. Taking account of the company’s conduct, including obtaining several weeks’ work without pay or other core entitlements and later refusing compensation, the officer awarded €1,308 for the breach.
The alternative complaint under the National Minimum Wage Act was not well founded. The company did not attend the hearing.