Kildare delivery driver awarded €6,700 for working hours and break breaches
The complainant, Ion Girbu, worked as a delivery driver for the respondent, a sub-contractor delivery company
A FORMER Kildare delivery van driver was awarded €6,729.30 after the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found that his employer, Jayden & Preston Limited t/a Parcel-King, breached multiple pieces of employment legislation, including minimum wage, working time, breaks, holiday pay and contract obligations.
The complainant, Ion Girbu, worked as a delivery driver for the respondent, a sub-contractor delivery company, from 7 June 2022 until 23 June 2023, delivering parcels in Co Meath and Co Kildare. He brought a series of complaints under the , , , , and the .
The driver told the WRC that he typically worked from 6am until 4pm or 5pm, five days a week, and frequently worked Saturdays. During the busy Christmas period, he said he worked up to six days a week until 7pm.
He was paid a flat rate of €100 a day, regardless of hours worked, including Saturdays. He said he received no formal breaks, ate lunch while driving, and was pressured to make up time if he took a break.
Mr Girbu said the employer was aware of his working hours, as all deliveries were tracked and scanned electronically, but he was never provided with timesheets.
He said he was not given his core terms of employment within five days of starting work, as required by law. While he was later given a contract to sign, he said he was never provided with a copy, and the particulars of the contract were not explained to him. He also said that after signing the contract electronically, he could no longer access it.
He further stated that he received no information about the legislation governing drivers’ working time, despite being engaged in mobile road transport activities.
At the end of his employment, the complainant said he was not paid his final two weeks’ wages, amounting to €1,000, and did not receive payment for accrued annual leave. He said repeated attempts to contact the employer went unanswered.
He told the WRC that several colleagues experienced similar issues and left the company before he did.
The respondent did not attend the WRC hearing, despite being notified by email and post, and did not submit any evidence. The adjudication officer accepted the complainant’s evidence in full, noting it was uncontested.
The WRC found multiple complaints to be well founded and ordered the employer to pay €1,000 for failure to provide core terms of employment within five days, €1,000 for failing to notify the driver of applicable working time regulations, €2,000 in relation to breaches of annual leave entitlements (financial loss and compensation), €1,000 for unpaid wages, €1,000 for denial of statutory rest breaks, and €729.30 in minimum wage arrears, after finding the driver earned an effective hourly rate of €9.09, below the 2023 minimum wage of €11.30.
The total amount awarded was €6,729.30, subject to tax and statutory deductions where applicable.
