WRC orders Bausch Health to pay worker €500 winter bonus

John Murphy won his Payment of Wages complaint against Bausch Health Ireland Limited over a withheld winter bonus. The Workplace Relations Commission dated its decision 9 July 2024 and directed the company to pay the November 2023 bonus of €500 by 1 August 2024. Murphy said he had worked almost all of the period covered by the bonus but was excluded because he left in October 2023, before vouchers were distributed. The company said employees had to be actively employed when the vouchers were paid and relied on bonus terms barring pro-rata payments to employees who left during the year. The adjudication officer preferred Murphy’s evidence, including correspondence indicating that retiring employees could receive a pro-rata payment. The officer found the company’s evidence about eligibility inconsistent and concluded that withholding the bonus was an unlawful deduction from wages.