The Labour Court upheld a decision rejecting David Byrne’s complaint that Meath Co Council unlawfully stopped paying his acting-up allowance. The determination was dated 15 January 2020.
Byrne appealed under the Payment of Wages Act 1991, saying he continued to perform the same duties and should keep receiving the allowance. The Council said he had returned to his substantive grade and was paid appropriately for that role. It also said the post linked to the allowance had been suppressed before the period covered by his claim.
Byrne accepted that a Council letter dated 27 July 2017 said the post was being suppressed and the allowance would cease. He had not raised a grievance about the suppression through the Council’s procedure. The relevant claim period ran from 23 June to 22 December 2018.
The Court found that the post had been suppressed before that period, so the acting-up allowance was not properly payable during it. It found there had been no unlawful deduction and held that Byrne’s appeal failed, upholding the Adjudication Officer’s decision that the complaint was not well founded.