A retired employee is taking legal action against his former company, claiming he is entitled to payment for 15 years of unpaid tea breaks which he believes should have been compensated.
The breaks, lasting between 15 and 20 minutes, form the basis of a dispute before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) involving David Hogan and Moovmor Engineering Limited in Kildare, reports Breaking News.
Mr Hogan has lodged a claim under the Payment of Wages Act 1991, maintaining that the company owes him approximately €875 for tea breaks taken during his employment over the past decade and a half.
A WRC adjudication hearing on Tuesday heard that staff at Moovmor were paid for tea breaks up until 2004, when an agreement was reached to discontinue the practice, reports Breaking News.
However, Mr Hogan contends that he did not consent to the revised arrangement and did not sign contracts issued in 2012 and 2017 which clearly stated that tea breaks would no longer be paid.
Derek Boyce, managing director of Moovmor Engineering, told the WRC that workers had originally been paid for 15-minute tea breaks, which were later extended to 20 minutes, reports Breaking News.
He said that in 2002 a letter was circulated to employees outlining proposed wage reductions and changes to working hours, inviting feedback from staff.
“At the time, everybody agreed to what we had suggested, except Dave [Hogan],” he said, but added that Mr Hogan had subsequently indicated that he would “go along with” the new arrangements, reports Breaking News.
The unpaid status of tea breaks was not formally documented until fresh contracts were introduced in 2012 and 2017, though Mr Hogan did not sign either version.
Mr Boyce stated that he was never informed of any disagreement from Mr Hogan regarding the matter, reports Breaking News.
He said he had suggested Mr Hogan could receive additional pay by starting work earlier in the morning, but that this proposal was declined as it did not suit him.
Cillian McGovern, acting for Mr Hogan, argued that Moovmor Engineering had unilaterally altered his client’s contract without securing his agreement. He highlighted that the revised contracts remained unsigned. Mr Hogan has since retired from the firm, reports Breaking News.
Peter Dunlea, representing the company, acknowledged that amendments had been introduced in contracts that were not signed by the complainant, but maintained that a signature was not necessary for them to take effect.
“[Mr Hogan] was aware of these [changes] in the region of 10 to 15 years ago… and so he accepted them,” he said, reports Breaking News.
“The law requires that it be presented in writing, not that it must be signed. In the present case, the complainant clearly accepted these [terms] decades ago.
He worked under them for 15 years,” added Mr Dunlea, claiming that there was no case to answer for the company, reports Breaking News.
The hearing was adjourned, with a ruling on the complaint due to be delivered in the coming weeks by WRC adjudication officer Penelope McGrath.
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