The Labour Court set aside a ruling against Patrick Mc Kenny and awarded him €195.67 gross after finding the Food Department Of Agriculture and the Marine unlawfully deducted half a day’s pay. The decision is dated 20 May 2024.
Mc Kenny, a Veterinary Inspector, was rostered to work at the Department’s Cavan office on 8 December 2021 but instead worked at its Monaghan office. The Department said the half-day deduction was justified because he had not attended his assigned office or carried out his assigned duties there. Mc Kenny argued that he had worked that day and disputed that his absence was unauthorised.
The Court found that he had worked for the Department and that the question of whether his absence was unauthorised should have been determined by the Department’s Secretary General before any deduction was made. Until then, he was entitled to his full day’s pay. The Court set aside the adjudication officer’s decision, which had found the complaint not well founded.