The Labour Court overturned an adjudication officer’s rejection of Christian Porter’s wage complaint against Excel Roofing Systems Limited, finding the company made an unlawful deduction during his layoff. The decision was dated 15 July 2024. The Court awarded no compensation.
Porter was laid off during pandemic restrictions and resigned on 25 March 2021. The company argued the layoff was genuine and no wages were payable, but the Court found it had no statutory or contractual authority, or written consent, for the deductions. It found his daily wage rate was €227.27 gross or €161.35 net; those were rates, not an award. The Court said the exceptional circumstances during the pandemic made no compensation reasonable.