Woman locked out of work system within an hour of refusing to resign wins €10,000

Worker repeatedly told she did not have to pay income tax and that her salary would be paid net without PAYE or PRSI deductions.

Remote worker was informed that her base salary would be reduced by 60% and her fixed salary by 40%

A remote worker who lost her job within hours of objecting to a 60% pay cut has been awarded €10,000 in compensation by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

Maja Goertz, who lives in Spain, worked remotely as an account executive for Irish tech company Educatly Ltd between January and July last year.

She told the WRC she was employed on an Irish contract, but the company repeatedly told her she did not have to pay income tax and that her salary would be paid net, without PAYE or PRSI deductions.

Ms Goertz said she was unhappy with their instruction to her that she did not have to pay any income tax and that her salary would be paid to her without statutory deductions.

In July last year, she was informed that her base salary would be reduced by 60% and her fixed salary by 40%, as well as the salaries of her co-workers. She told the Commission she was dissatisfied with the proposed pay reduction as it would have resulted in her being paid far less than the national minimum wage.

As soon as she raised an issue with the pay cut, Ms Goertz said she was accused of "extreme behaviour" and was told that she should resign as her actions did not align with the organisation’s values. When she declined to resign as suggested, she was locked out of the computer system within an hour and was unable to attend to online meetings she had arranged. The complainant also stated that the respondent asked her to sign a waiver in respect of her employment rights, which she refused to do.

Educatly did not attend the initial hearing in February or a reconvened hearing in May, although it was notified at its Dublin address and at an address in Egypt where the company's principal lives.

Adjudication officer Andrew Heavey found that Ms Goertz's repeated attempts to get clarity on how her salary was taxed amounted to a protected disclosure under the Protected Disclosures Act, because they concerned a failure to comply with a legal obligation.

"While there is an element of personal grievance relating to unilateral reductions in pay, and the proposed level of earnings being less than the National Minimum Wage if implemented, there is also the wider issue of the respondent not complying with the Irish taxation system and informing an employee who is employed on an Irish employment contract that there is no requirement to pay income tax or PRSI and that she will receive a net salary without deductions," he said.

He upheld her claim under the Unfair Dismissals Act and directed the respondent to pay the complainant €10,000 in compensation.