WRC awards Georgina Ako €2,808 over missing employment terms

The Workplace Relations Commission ordered Reign Healthcare Limited to pay Georgina Ako €2,808 in compensation after finding that it had not provided required written employment terms. The decision was dated 26 September 2023. Ako worked mainly as a social care worker and for about six weeks as a social care leader. She said she had not received a contract and claimed unpaid pay, travel expenses and accrued annual leave. The respondent conceded that no statement of employment terms had been issued. The adjudicator found that the breach caused difficulties and disadvantage, and ordered compensation equal to four weeks’ pay; it was compensation for a statutory breach, not wages or arrears. The WRC also awarded €1,208.16 for accrued annual leave, calculating the amount using a standard 39-hour week. It rejected complaints about the 20% tax deduction and travel expenses, and did not accept Ako’s €3,500 annual-leave calculation. The outcomes were mixed across the complaints.