Labour Court upholds €2,000 award to hotel worker for Sunday premiums

The Labour Court has dismissed Duesbury Limited Trading As Old Ground Hotel’s appeal and upheld a €2,000 award to Mary Frost for unpaid Sunday premiums. The determination was dated 24 March 2010. Frost, an accommodation assistant at the hotel in Ennis, Co Clare, worked every second Sunday. She said her pay did not include compensation for Sunday work. The employer argued that her hourly rate already included a 10% premium and exceeded the rate set under the Hotels Joint Labour Committee Employment Regulation Order. The Court found that the employer had not shown any part of Frost’s pay was set in consideration of Sunday work. It held that the Order’s double-time premium applied to her contractual rate. The €2,000 award covered Sunday-premium arrears for the six months before her claim.