Labour Court upholds rejection of Waterford firefighter’s public holiday pay appeal

The Labour Court upheld the rejection of firefighter Ross Skelly’s appeal over public holiday pay in a determination dated 17 April 2023. Skelly, who worked for Waterford City and County Council, argued that overtime and shift allowances should have been included when calculating his pay for public holidays he did not work. The Council argued that overtime was excluded by law and that allowances were payable only when Skelly worked the relevant shifts. The Court found that three additional weekly hours were paid at premium rates and counted as overtime, even though they appeared as basic hours on his payslips. It also found that the Saturday, night, meal and Sunday payments varied according to work done. Public holiday pay rules exclude overtime and include only qualifying regular allowances that do not vary with work. The appeal failed, leaving the Adjudication Officer’s decision that the complaint was not well founded in place.