The Labour Court rejected Annette Quigley’s appeal and upheld the Department Of Public Expenditure And Reform’s appeal in a joint challenge over her Payment of Wages Act claim. The Court found the Department was not her employer and varied the Adjudication Officer’s decision. Its determination was signed on 18 January 2022.
Quigley argued that the Department and the Department of Finance were the same entity, relying on a bank statement showing her salary was paid by the latter. She said she had worked in several civil service departments and was then working in the Department of Education in Athlone, reporting to a Department of Education manager.
The Department argued that it was separate from the Department of Finance and that Quigley worked for the Department of Education. The Court found that the Department Of Public Expenditure And Reform was not Quigley’s employer, so her claim against it failed. The Adjudication Officer had previously found the Department was the correct respondent but found no breach of the Payment of Wages Act. The Labour Court upheld the Department’s appeal on the respondent issue, rejected Quigley’s appeal on the substantive claim and varied the earlier decision.