The Labour Court upheld the dismissal of David Bialowas’s appeal over a pay reduction after he moved from night work at Tesco Ireland’s Navan store to day work in Drogheda. Its determination was dated 23 July 2019.
His salary fell from €44,880 to €34,081. Bialowas said he had not sought the move and disputed signing the 2014 contract and meeting notes. Tesco Ireland said he requested day work, was told his pay could fall and was offered the chance to return to his previous night role.
The Court found that Tesco Ireland’s established practice of paying night workers a one-third premium could be an implied term of Bialowas’s contract. It concluded that the premium ended when he stopped working nights and that he chose not to return to night work. The Court found no breach of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 and upheld the Adjudication Officer’s decision that the complaint was not well founded.