WRC awards Jose Adalberto Da Silva €1,500 for unpaid annual leave

The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Fakeaway Ltd to pay Jose Adalberto Da Silva €1,500 compensation after finding his annual leave complaint well founded. The decision, dated 20 April 2023, concerned leave pay owed when his employment ended. Da Silva worked for the company, which operated a fine dining restaurant, from January to April 2022, including as head chef. He said he was owed pay for accrued annual leave, including a paid day off for working on Mother’s Day. The adjudicator accepted his sworn evidence, supported by pay records, and found that non-payment breached the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Fakeaway was in voluntary liquidation and did not oppose the complaint. The WRC calculated the annual leave due using a 13-week average weekly rate of €1,093, plus €219 for a day off. It directed the company to pay €1,500 as a lump sum of compensation.