The Labour Court overturned an Adjudication Officer’s decision against Elizabeth Reid and awarded her €300 after finding Dunnes Stores unlawfully deducted €64.56 from her wages. The determination was signed on 6 October 2016.
Reid, a night worker, said Dunnes Stores refused to let her work the remaining hours of her rostered shift after a strike ended at midnight on 2 April 2015, and did not pay her for those hours. The company argued that she had offered only partial performance of her contract and that the law allowed a deduction because she had taken part in the strike.
The Court found Reid offered to perform all her duties after the strike ended, so her offer was not partial performance. It found the cancelled roster was invalid and that €64.56 was properly payable. The Court rejected the argument that the strike exception allowed a deduction for hours after the strike had ended, found a breach of the Payment of Wages Act and set aside the Adjudication Officer’s decision.