The Workplace Relations Commission directed Kostal Ireland Gmbh to pay Gabriel Delee €531 in compensation after finding an unlawful wage deduction during pandemic-related reduced hours. The decision was dated 19 May 2023.
The parties had agreed that five named cases would serve as test cases for about 300 similar Payment of Wages claims. Delee said his contract did not permit the company to reduce his pay without his consent. Kostal said reduced hours were needed to manage pandemic-related trading and supply-chain difficulties.
The adjudicator found no contractual term authorising the unpaid time and no established custom and practice permitting the reductions. The complaint was well founded under the Payment of Wages Act. The €531 compensation related to two specified days and is subject to statutory deductions and reconciliation of Jobseeker’s Benefit received.