The Workplace Relations Commission awarded bartender Eris Byrne €430 after finding that the Grafton Hotel had unlawfully deducted wages. Its decision, dated 12 June 2023, upheld her complaint against Balrath Operations Unlimited trading as the Grafton Hotel.
Byrne told the WRC that her agreed rate was €12 an hour, but her payslips showed she was paid €11. The adjudicator found she had worked 216 hours and was paid €1 less per hour than she should have received. The respondent accepted part of her claim but disputed that she was entitled to notice pay.
The adjudicator also found Byrne was entitled to one week’s pay in lieu of notice, calculated using a 15-hour working week. The formal decision found her Payment of Wages Act complaint well founded and directed the €430 payment for the unlawful deduction. The Act requires employers to pay wages as agreed and restricts deductions unless they are permitted by law, the employment contract or the employee’s written consent.