The Labour Court increased compensation for worker Arturs Valpeters to €5,000 after finding that Melbury Developments Limited breached working-time rules on rest breaks and record-keeping. The determination was dated 25 April 2007, and the Court allowed Valpeters’ appeal against the amount awarded by the Rights Commissioner.
Valpeters said he worked more than 48 hours a week, did not receive appropriate rest breaks and that the company failed to keep proper records. Melbury Developments Limited argued that he was a labour-only subcontractor who was paid above the construction industry rate for labourers.
The Court found that Valpeters was an employee, that no reliable records had been kept and that the company had not complied with the rules on breaks. It found breaches of sections 12, 17 and 25 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. The Rights Commissioner had awarded €1,000; the Labour Court increased the compensation to €5,000 for all the infractions found.