A COUNTY TIPPERARY mushroom producer allegedly paid a female Romanian mushroom picker as low as €4.06 per hour.

A State workplace watchdog today ordered Stablefield Ltd to pay former Harvest Manager at the firm, Ana Lacramioara Manciu, €15,058 in arrears over the company’s failure to pay her the national minimum wage over a 12 month period from September 2015 to September 2016.

In her findings, Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudicator, Úna Glazier Farmer stated that she accepted Lacramioara Manciu’s undisputed evidence in its entirety and that her complaint is well founded.

Lacramioara Manciu provided evidence of working 14 and 15 hour long days but only getting paid for 6.58 hours and 6.77 hours on those days by Stablefield Ltd.

Lacramioara Manciu alleged that Stablefield Ltd falsified her working hours and Glazier Farmer stated that the “falsification of working hours with the clear intention of deceiving the complainant and underpaying her significantly less than the national minimum wage is the most heinous breach of her employment rights”.

Glazier Farmer stated that Stablefield Ltd sought to take advantage of Lacramioara Manciu who was not familiar with her employment rights upon arrival in Ireland.

Glazier Farmer has also awarded Lacramioara Manciu €2,000 in expenses in connection with the dispute brought under Section 24 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000

Glazier Farmer stated that Lacramioara Manciu gave her evidence with exceptional detail and clarity despite the passage of time and was clear as to dates, times, events with reference to supporting evidence.

Represented by Arthur Cox Solicitors and Sharon Dillon Lyons BL in the case, it was submitted that Lacramioara Manciu was paid an average hourly rate of between €4.06 to €4.65, to €5.55 to €6.17 over the course of her employment.

During this period, the national minimum wage in July 2011 was set at €8.65 and increased to €9.15 on January 1st 2016.

Lacramioara Manciu was initially employed as a mushroom picker on 10 December 2012 and through a series of promotions held the position of Harvest Manager when she left her employment in 2016.

Lacramioara Manciu gave evidence that she and her husband came from Romania to work with Stablefield Ltd and had little English.

The most recent accounts filed by Stablefield Ltd to the Companies Office show that it recorded revenues of €4.93m in 2020 and recorded post tax profits of €183,538. During 2020, the company – which has its registered office at Killeaton, Clogheen, Co Tipperary – employed 74 people. 

During her time with the firm, Lacramioara Manciu took screenshots of the clock-in clock-out system.

They showed that on 5 February 2015, Lacramioara Manciu clocked in at 6.05am and clocked out at 9.57pm with 70 minutes automatically deducted for breaks showing that she worked 15 hours and 12 minutes.

Evidence concerning another date shows that on 7 February, Lacramioara Manciu clocking in at 6.15am to 9.02pm – working hours of 14 hours and 47 minutes.

In contrast, a company monthly pay analysis of hours presented by Lacramioara Manciu records 6.58 hours worked by her on 5 February 2015 and 6.77 hours worked by her on 7 February 2015.

Lacramioara Manciu alleged that it was this falsified pay analysis sheet that was kept by Stablefield Ltd for the purposes of demonstrating its compliance with employment legislation around pay and working hours.

Lacramioara Manciu opened screenshots of the clock in and out times and it was her evidence that these working hours were regularly, if not daily, allegedly altered by company owner, Tom Sweeney.

Lacramioara Manciu stated that there were four connected computers, including the one used for the employee clock in and out system, one in her office and the main computer in Sweeney’s office which had TeamViewer installed in it.

She stated that this allowed Sweeney not only to constantly monitor the work being undertaken by the employee but amend their work.

It was Lacramioara Manciu’s evidence that she could see in real time Sweeney allegedly amending the clock out times of employees, including her own, to reflect a much shorter working day.

Lacramioara Manciu gave evidence of her promotion to Trainer and then to Supervisor before being promoted to Harvest Manager.

Lacramioara Manciu stated that with each promotion the list of tasks and duties increased so she was still responsible for cleaning, training, administration and picking as well as being Harvest Manager.

In her sworn evidence, Lacramioara Manciu said that she was surprised that she was required to work until 10pm.

She stated that she was informed by the other employees at the time that this was the way things worked and it did not matter how many hours she worked , the focus was on the number of kilos of mushrooms she picked.

Lacramioara Manciu subsequently found out that for each kilo she picked she was given 30c which was later increased to 33c.

Stablefield Ltd’s legal representatives appeared at the hearing to object to the WRC’s jurisdiction to hear the minimum wage complaint.

Glazier Farmer dismissed the preliminary objection and recorded that the firm’s legal representatives left the hearing and made no submission or evidence in response to Lacramioara Manciu’s claim.