Mon Sep 23 17:29:15 UTC 2024: ## Electrician Walks Off National Children’s Hospital Site Over Wage Dispute

**Dublin, Ireland** – A supervising electrician has claimed he was forced to resign from his position at the National Children’s Hospital construction site due to a significant pay cut imposed by his employer. Ian Church, who worked for HPL Engineering Services Ltd, told the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that he was left with no other option but to walk off the job after discovering his hourly rate had been reduced by €7, representing a 20% decrease in his salary.

Church alleges that the pay cut came after he took a week of bereavement leave following the death of his mother-in-law in March 2020. Upon his return, he was confronted by the site supervisor regarding his absence and subsequently received a payslip with the reduced rate. Despite his attempts to resolve the issue with both the site supervisor and HPL management, Church claims he was met with indifference and “fobbing off.”

This, he claims, was not an isolated incident, citing a previous instance where his pay was arbitrarily cut and then only partially restored. Church maintains that his agreed rate of pay was €33.03 per hour and that he communicated the importance of this rate to multiple employees.

After receiving a second payslip with the reduced rate, Church contacted his employer and informed them that he would be leaving if the issue wasn’t resolved. He was met with a dismissive response, with his employer stating they were “on holidays.” Feeling ignored and unable to rectify the situation, Church walked off the job on March 31st, 2023.

Church is now seeking a ruling of constructive dismissal, arguing that HPL’s actions created a hostile work environment forcing him to resign. The company has countered that Church failed to formally resign and did not utilize the company’s grievance process. However, Church argues that his attempts to resolve the issue through informal means were ignored.

The WRC has adjourned the matter to a future date, where the adjudicator will determine whether Church’s resignation constitutes constructive dismissal and if he is entitled to any compensation.

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