Kevin Delanty Food Company Ltd T/A Verde v Jack Delaney

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 03 March 2020
• Judgment citation (vLex): [2020] 3 JIEC 0303
• Date: 2020
• Docket Number: FULL RECOMMENDATION DETERMINATION NO.DWT203 AQDJ-00020794 CA-00027390-001
• Court: Labour Court (Ireland)

PARTIES:

Kevin Delanty Food Co Ltd T/A Verde

and

Jack Delaney

FULL RECOMMENDATION

WTC/20/3

DETERMINATION NO.DWT203

AQDJ-00020794 CA-00027390-001

Labour Court

DIVISION:

Chairman: Ms O'Donnell

Employer Member: Mr Murphy

Worker Member: Ms Tanham

SECTION 28 (1), ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME ACT, 1997

SUBJECT:

1 1. An appeal of an Adjudication Officer's Decision No(s)ADJ-00020794 CA-00027390-001

BACKGROUND:

2 2. The Employer appealed the Decision of the Adjudication Officer to the Labour Court on 3 January 2020 in accordance with Section 28 (1) of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. A Labour Court hearing took place on 26 February 2020. The following is the Determination of the Court:-

DETERMINATION:

Background

3 This is an appeal by Kevin Delanty Food Co Ltd trading as Verde against an Adjudication Officer decision ADJ-00006146 in a complaint by Jack Delaney former employee, pursuant to s.41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The complaint relates to alleged contraventions of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (the Act) in relation to the payment of holiday pay. The Adjudication Officer awarded the Complainant € 684.40 for economic loss and a further €369.00 compensation.

4 In line with the normal practice of the Court, the parties are referred to in this Determination as they were at first instance. Hence, Jack Delaney is referred to as the Complainant and Kevin Delanty Food Co Ltd trading as Verde is referred to as the Respondent. The Complainant was employed by the Respondent from the 6 ^th April 2018 to the 16 ^th March 2019. The complaint was lodged with the WRC on the 29 ^th March 2019.

Complainant's Case

5 It is the Complainant's case that he was not granted annual leave for the months he was working in the calendar year 2018. The Complaint confirmed that he did receive his annual leave entitlement for the months he worked in the calendar year 2019.

Respondent

6 The Respondent submitted that it was a start up business and that in 2018 he had facilitated the Complainant with flexible working and that the Complainant had indicated that he did not want any annual leave for the months worked in 2018. The Respondent was unable to point to any section of the Act that permitted an employee to opt out of taking their annual leave entitlement.

Discussion

7 Section 19 of the Act states “….an employee shall be entitled to paid annual leave..”. it was accepted in the course of the hearing that this section of the Act had been...