Labour Court upholds decision in David Murphy overtime appeal

David Murphy’s appeal over Saturday overtime failed at the Labour Court, which affirmed the decision on his Payment of Wages complaint against Limerick City and County Council. The Court’s decision was dated 2 December 2024. Murphy, a Supervisor Gardener, argued that regular Saturday overtime had become a contractual entitlement and was unlawfully stopped after he moved to a different role. The Council said the new role did not require weekly overtime and that it paid him for all hours he actually worked. The Court found that Murphy received all wages properly payable for overtime he worked, so there had been no deduction. It did not decide whether he had a contractual right to be assigned overtime. The Payment of Wages Act covers wages due on an occasion; this complaint concerned a claimed right to be required to work overtime, rather than unpaid wages for hours worked. No award was recorded.