The Workplace Relations Commission has ordered Ospg Limited to pay former employee Horacio Castro €5,230.04 after finding an unlawful deduction from his wages. The decision was dated 11 November 2024.
Castro worked as a pharmacy technician and later a pharmacist. He said €5,230.04 was withheld from his final wages after he resigned, while the company argued his contract allowed it to recover recruitment costs if he left within two years.
Adjudication officer Orla Jones found the contract clause too vague to show Castro had been told that a recruitment fee had been incurred or what it was. Jones also noted that Castro’s rostered hours had fallen from five days a week to two or three before he resigned.
The Payment of Wages Act restricts deductions from employees’ pay. The WRC found the deduction unlawful and directed the company to repay the amount withheld.