Labour Court upholds rejection of Joanna Rutkowska’s sick-pay complaint

The Labour Court upheld the rejection of Joanna Rutkowska’s sick-pay complaint against The Mendicity Institution in a determination dated 14 October 2019. Rutkowska appealed after an adjudication officer found no breach of the Payment of Wages Act. She said she met the sick-pay scheme’s requirements and that they had been changed unilaterally. The Mendicity Institution said her medical certificates lacked the detail needed to verify them. The Court found the employer acted reasonably in checking the certificates and that Rutkowska had not met the contractual requirement for further sick pay. It concluded the pay was not properly payable under the Act and upheld the adjudication officer’s decision.