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Portuguese construction workers awarded damages for breaches of employment contracts
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High Court awards damages for breach of employment contracts to 27 Portuguese nationals, as plaintiffs employed by the three defendant companies to work on a construction project in County Limerick, on the grounds that the defendants engaged in systematic and deliberate efforts to understate the actual amount of hours worked by the plaintiffs, and made unreasonable and unfair deductions from their wages in respect of unfit and dangerous accommodation provided, in breach of contract of the employment of each.
Employment - damages for breach of employment contract - three linked sets of proceedings - 27 plaintiffs - construction sector - terms of contract - construction industry registered employment agreement - whether a failure to pay plaintiffs for all hours worked under contract - whether a breach by defendants of an implied term that accommodation, meals and laundry service to be provided by defendants was of a reasonable standard and that such applicable deductions from wages in respect of the provision of such services was fair and reasonable - inspections carried out by NERA - excessive hours worked - working time offences charged and proved in District Court - hours actually worked well in excess of scheduled/logged hours - systematic and deliberate under-recording of plaintiffs' hours of work - criticisms of accommodation provided - deductions from wages unjustified - 'country money' deduction for board reasonable and fair - laundry and benefit-in-kind deductions not in accordance with contract - parties' understanding of the terms of the contracts at time of contracting - contracts procured for an unlawful purpose - 'social dumping' - enforceability of contract - miscellaneous employment law claims - plaintiffs' statutory rights - damages for breach of contract - conclusions reached.
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