Unpaid wages recovered by Workplace Relations Commission inspectors surged 45 per cent last year – with employers ordered to pay over €1.4 million to workers over employment law breaches.
Overall, 45 per cent of employers subject to inspection were found to be in breach, an increase over the rate of 27 per cent noncompliance recorded in 2021.
Retail, and food service were the sectors targeted for the most scrutiny, representing about a third of the annual inspection workload each and 60 per cent of the wages recovered.
In all, €1,405,126 in unpaid wages were recovered – up 45 per cent on the €964,281 in 2021, which was the lowest figure recorded since the WRC subsumed the role of the National Employment Rights Authority in 2015.
In 2022, prosecutions were brought against 89 employers, with 24 convicted, 38 receiving the benefit of the Probation Act and seven making donations to charity.
Twelve cases were withdrawn, dismissed or struck out, with the WRC unable to prosecute or deciding not to progress the case in eight more.
The commission also recovered €208,044 for workers where employers failed to pay sums awarded by adjudicating officers in 30 cases, before a court order being made.
Last year, the employment and Equality Tribunal also recorded a 30 per cent increase in the number of adjudication hearings to 4,253 – cases having been put on hiatus for over three months in 2021 while emergency legislation was drafted in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Zalewski case, which saw wholesale reform in how complaints before the commission are heard.
The annual report notes that other than a number of group cases awaiting legal rulings from a superior court, it has now scheduled hearings for “all complaints received before 2022″ and that a fifth of complaints put in last year were closed off by the new year.
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The report author cautioned, however, that because of the requirement that oaths be taken and witnesses be cross-examined: “The experience of all parties is that hearings are taking longer than would be anticipated.”
The report noted a 30 per cent increase in parties opting for mediation before the formal opening of employment and equality disputes to public hearings.
The tribunal launched a pilot scheme last September offering late-notice mediation as an option to parties in dispute after placing them on notice of a formal hearing – with around a quarter of parties looking for late mediation resolving the matter in advance of the case opening.
Overall, 17 per cent of claims were withdrawn in advance of hearing.
Two other employers were prosecuted and fined for failing to comply with an order to pay a WRC adjudication award.
The acting director general of the WRC, Anna Perry, said 2022 marked a return to a “pre-Covid service delivery model” with more face to face engagement.
“It was a challenging year with significant achievements made. The hard work and commitment of the staff over the past year has been critical in managing the demand and delivering this level of output,” she said.
Welcoming the report, Minister of State for Employment Affairs, Neale Richmond, said it had been a “very successful year for the WRC”.
“As our economy continues to grow and we maintain effective full employment with over 2.57 million people at work in Ireland, we must ensure workers’ rights are upheld. In recovering €1.4 million in unpaid wages in 2022, the WRC is playing a crucial role in this regard,” Mr Richmond said.
