WRC rejects Hickey Fabrication Services wage complaint

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found that Hickey Fabrication Services did not breach the Payment of Wages Act in Peter Healy’s complaint over an unpaid Christmas bonus, tool allowance and health insurance payments. The decision was dated 16 January 2025. Hickey Fabrication Services argued that no bonus was due while Healy was on extended sick leave, and that the tool allowance reimbursed work expenses while health insurance was a benefit in kind. The adjudication officer found the bonus was calculated at zero during his absence under the agreement, and that the other payments were excluded from the Act’s definition of wages. No award was recorded.