The Labour Court overturned an adjudication officer’s award of arrears to Michael O’Loughlin, allowing an appeal by the Department Of Education And Skills. The Court’s determination was signed on 5 October 2017.
O’Loughlin claimed that withdrawing his acting-principal allowance amounted to an unlawful deduction from wages. He said his acting service lasted five years and one day; the Department said it ran for exactly five years.
The Court relied on signed appointment documents and correspondence in which O’Loughlin gave the Department’s dates, including a form he completed to obtain the allowance. It found that he did not meet the requirement of more than five years’ service and that no contravention had occurred. The Court set aside the adjudication officer’s decision. It did not need to decide the Department’s separate argument that the complaint was late.