WRC recommends reasonable wage deductions to recoup payroll overpayment

The WRC recommended that a public service employer recoup overpayments from a worker’s wages at a level it considers reasonable. In a recommendation dated 20 February 2026, adjudication officer David James Murphy also recommended that the employer review its policy on stopping deductions while a dispute is before the WRC. The worker, who had worked as a porter for about 14 years before moving into an administrative role, accepted that he had been overpaid approximately €16,000 in allowances and that the employer could recover it. He challenged the handling of his internal grievance and deductions made while his WRC referral was pending; the employer refunded deductions made during that period. Murphy found the employer entitled to deduct the overpayment and considered its view that the worker was abusing the process reasonable.