WRC finds freelance invoice dispute outside Payment of Wages Act

The Workplace Relations Commission found Magdalena Nowak’s unpaid-invoice complaint against Work Experience Agency Ltd was not well founded, because the relationship was freelance rather than employment. The decision was dated 6 May 2025. Nowak said she invoiced the agency for arranging Erasmus and school placements across Europe. The agency relied on a freelance contract and said the invoice dispute involved changes to non-compete and non-solicitation clauses. The adjudicator found either side could decline work, the agency could not realistically control work across several European states, and there was no general bar on delegation. The WRC concluded there was no contract of service, a requirement for a Payment of Wages complaint, and treated the dispute as a commercial matter. No award was recorded.