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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