TWO IRISH-BASED Pakistani doctors have been ordered to pay just under €67,000 to their former domestic worker, who had alleged she had worked round-the-clock, 7 days a week.
In a case at the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT), the tribunal has ordered that Mr and Mrs Tahir Nazir pay Sultana Anwar €66,794 as a result of Anwar’s unfair dismissal action.
In the case, the couple denied that Anwar had worked for them at all and was here on a visitor’s visa as she is Dr Nazir’s second cousin.
However, Anwar said that she arrived to work into Ireland as a domestic worker for the Nazirs in March 2009 and she expected to get a three and a half-year Visa and to be paid €100 per week.
Anwar worked for the Nazirs until 10 August 2011 and she told a tribunal hearing in Dublin that she started work at 7.00am each day and sometimes did not finish until 11 or 12 in the evening.
Anwar said that if she complained, the couple threatened that the police would come and get her.
She said that the only time off she got was when she was eating. She further alleged that she worked seven days a week and never got a day off.
Anwar also alleged that she had no permission to leave the house and also had no access to a phone.
She was looking after three children and was also doing the cooking, cleaning and ironing, the court heard.
In the case, Anwar was represented by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland and
Anwar said she was paid €150 on the 17th day of each month and she sent it to her family.
However, Anwar’s version of events was flatly contradicted by the Nazirs who claimed that she didn’t work at all during her time with them.
The Nazirs represented themselves at the hearing and Dr Nazir said that Anwar is his second cousin “and never worked for them”.
Dr Nazir said that Anwar asked him over the phone if she could visit.
Dr Nazir said that they already had a child minder and did their own cooking and washing.
He said that Anwar was a visitor but she had her own mobile phone and had access to their phone.
In its determination, the three member EAT said that there was a major conflict of evidence in the case.
They stated that while accepting that there are difficulties with both versions of events, the Tribunal prefers the evidence of Anwar and finds that she had been the Nazirs’ domestic worker and that she was in effect constructively dismissed.
The Tribunal stated that it accepts that Anwar worked a very large number of hours each week, and that these were the normal hours of the employment.
The tribunal awarded Anwar €64,771 for her constructive dismissal under the Unfair Dismissal Act, €1,349 under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts and €674 under the Payment of Wages Act.
The Migrants Rights Centre of Ireland declined to comment after pointing out that the case is not closed as the date to appeal the EAT ruling has not passed.
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