EAT awards €17,000 for dismissal after refusal to sign new contract
The need for employers to be careful in amending employee contracts has been highlighted in a case recently before the Employment Appeals Tribunal where a dismissed employee was awarded €17,000 by the Tribunal which indicated that it accepted the evidence of the claimant; that she was dismissed due to the fact that she refused to sign a new contract of employment.
The claimant who worked mainly evening shifts, weekends and bank holidays indicated that when she arrived at work one day, she was informed that there were new contracts on a desk and that all staff were to sign them on that day. She indicated to her employer that she wished to speak to him about this, however he indicated that there was nothing to be talked about. Her main concern at that point was that she was losing her days off.
She indicated to the Tribunal that her employer told her that he would drive through the changes without changes and whether they were legal or illegal and that when other members of staff refused to sign the employer blamed the Claimant for this. She claimed that she was then excluded from management meetings, her hours of work were reduced and ultimately she was informed that her position was made redundant.
While the employer indicated that the dismissal was due to redundancy, the Tribunal did not accept that it was a Redundancy and awarded the Claimant €17,000 in damages for Unfair Dismissal as well as €820 under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts.
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Cases in Employment Appeals Tribunal take up to 83 weeks for Hearing
In recent figures issued to RTÉ news, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation confirmed that the average waiting period for an unfair dismissals case at the Employment Appeals Tribunal is 75 weeks in Dublin and 83 weeks in the rest of the country.
At the start of 2013 there are just over 5,000 cases waiting to be listed for hearing resulting in both employers and workers have to wait around a year and a half for a hearing.
While the Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation noted that the EAT has increased the number of cases disposed of in recent years - with an additional 13% of cases handled in 2012, it identified that there are significant delays in issuing determinations - with the longest delay involving a case where a ruling post-hearing has been awaited for 104 weeks.
The department stressed that the EAT is independent in exercising its quasi-judicial function and that the minister has no direct involvement in its day to day operations.
The department said the tribunal aims to issue 80% of determinations within ten weeks of a hearing taking place.
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Employment Permits Bill
Legislation aimed at protecting undocumented migrant workers is being progressed as a priority by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
The proposed legislation will address, amongst other matters, an important legal issue identified in a recent High Court decision. In August 2012, the High Court overturned a Rights Commissioner's award of over €91,000 in favour of a foreign national employed as a restaurant worker.
The Court found that the employee’s contract of employment was substantively illegal in the absence of the appropriate employment permit and that he was therefore not entitled to the award.
The proposed legislation will protect migrant workers whose employment in Ireland is unlawful by reason of not having a work permit. The Department recently confirmed that it is expected that the Bill will be published in the first quarter of this year.
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