WRC receives 5,200 requests for Employment Investigation and Adjudication
Since its inception on 1 October 2015, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has already received 5,200 requests for employment rights investigations or adjudication.
The Director General of the WRC, Kieran Mulvey has referred to the situation currently facing the WRC as an “industrial relations emergency department”.
One need only to look at daily news feeds for confirmation that there is growing unrest in terms of pay and reward across the country. First there was the Luas debacle, then Dublin Bus drivers, followed by DART drivers. The private sector doesn’t appear to be exempt either with Tesco and manufacturing firm Medtronic only two of a whole raft of companies facing some form of pay bargaining.
This upsurge in volatility comes as employees who feel they have legitimate frustrations look to gain back what they lost during the downturn.
The WRC faces a challenging few months ahead. Cool heads will be needed for effective consultation that does not threaten our recovering and fragile economy.
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
Social Media (part 3)- Discipline/Dismissals
There are a wide variety of situations whereby employee behaviour on-line can give rise to disquiet in the workplace. Poorly managed social media use can result in disputes can include:
- Excessive use of social media platforms during working hours, whether on work or personal devices
- Comments, photographs, or videos posted online which could cause irrefutable reputational damage to a business
- Behaviour that could be considered as cyber-bulling or harassment, particularly if activity discriminates against a protected characteristic such as religion, race, gender or age.
All of the above can have a significant effect on a business, and it is most certainly in the interests of any employer to prevent such activity from occurring. The question however is, how?
Discipline / Dismissal
There is limited case law in this jurisdiction in Ireland but there are a few principles that employers should take into account before sanctioning an employee for internet, social media activity.
- How did it come to the employer’s attention?
- As a result of unlawful surveillance, which may be considered an invasion of privacy
- If the material has/could cause actual damage or bring the business into disrepute?
- If there is a policy which is clear in covering the activity and if it has been communicated to staff?
- Has the activity taken place in the public or private domain?
While the use and abuse of the internet and social media can sometimes justify employer dismissal and disciplinary action, it is vitally important to have good policies in place. Without appropriate policies setting out the boundaries of what an employee can and cannot do on social media, it can be extremely difficult to discipline an employee for posting items or content with which an employer may take issue, particularly for breaches of employment law and or equality acts.
What should the Policy Contain?
A social media policy should state what type and level of social media use and behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable. It should be made clear that disciplinary action may be taken as a result of inappropriate social media use on private sites and for activities which take place outside working hours, if they impact on the workplace. The business interest or value which is sought to be protected should be expressly identified in the policy so as to provide maximum justification in cases of sanction or dismissal.
As this is a relatively new area for employment law in Ireland it is difficult to tell how Tribunals, Adjudicators may or may not deal with discipline and dismissal cases, but what we have seen from cases that have been before the courts so far is that it is definitely in the best interest of employers to have some form of social media policy then no social media policy!
Next week we’ll cover recent social media cases that have come before the courts and we’ll examine the position that Tribunals appear to be taking.
Bright Contracts has a fully comprehensive social media policy built into the software.
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
Social Media Monitoring
Social Media and employment law is a huge area of interest at the moment, given the current and ever-changing online environment we work and live in. It is advisable that employers make themselves aware of the different aspects of social media and the role it can play regarding employment law in the workplace. Having a Social Media Policy in place is hugely beneficial for employers today.
Monitoring & Surveillance
With the advancement of technology, employers can now monitor employees every move as well as internet usage and or e-mail communications quite easily, but it is not clear under the present law whether or not this could be seen as a breach of privacy and the Data Protection Acts, so employers need to be careful.
Social media can come into play in connection with surveillance of workers and the monitoring of employee e-mails and cyber communications. If an employer has in place a policy warning employees that all communications on devices, supplied by the employer or personal, could and would be monitored then it is being made clear to employees that misuse of internet is prohibited. Also a policy needs to be in place to let employees know if monitored CCTV is in operation in the premises or if there is security access, whereby employees need to swipe their personal ID card to gain entry or exit the building, canteen, rest rooms, etc.
Employer policies and actions in relation to monitoring and surveillance of employees must be clear and should only be carried out to give effect to the stated purpose. Monitoring and surveillance in Irish Law in general is governed by the Data Protection Act 1988, as amended in 2003. If an employer wishes to set up monitoring and use the data, it should comply with the principles in this legislation.
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
Au Pair Awarded €9,000
Yesterday saw a landmark judgement as an Irish family was ordered to pay a Spanish au pair more than €9,000.
Ruling in favour of the au pair, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found the family breached several employment laws, including:
- Failure to pay minimum wage
- Failure to issue a contract of employment
- Failure to provide correct annual leave
The au pair was paid €100 a week plus board for between 30 and 60 hours of work per week during her employment with the family.
Au pairing in Ireland has increased dramatically in the last five years. According to research conducted by the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI), more than 20,000 Irish households are employing au pairs to look after children and clean homes, with the average au pair paid just € 100 for a 40-hour working week.
Ireland has no legal framework for au pairs and nothing that stipulates that they are exempt from employment regulations. Some Irish agencies tend to categorise au pairing as a cultural exchange programme where the foreign worker lives with a host family to experience a new culture and learn English. However, the validity of this argument is very much under scrutiny in light of this ruling.
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
Using Social Media in your Recruitment Process
Social Media and employment law is a huge area of interest at the moment, given the current and ever-changing online environment we work and live in. It is advisable that employers make themselves aware of the different aspects of social media and the role it can play regarding employment law in the workplace. Having a Social Media Policy in place is hugely beneficial for employers today.
Over the coming weeks we are going to look at 3 areas of the employment relationship where social media can play a role: recruitment, monitoring and surveillance and discipline/dismissal.
Recruitment:
Employers generally need to perform background searches on potential new employees, however using social media sites to gain information can be a breach of Employment Equality legislation - if it is found that the employer based their decision to hire or not hire a person because of information gathered online. Asking an interviewee about their family or marital status, age, sexual orientation or if they have or intend to have children and so on is strictly prohibited under employment law so if an employer decides to do an informal check on FaceBook or LinkedIn of a potential new employee this could be construed as a violation of the Employment Equality Acts under one or more of the nine grounds of discrimination.
Also information gathered may not be entirely accurate or true and could result in the employer rejecting a candidate who would otherwise be highly suitable for the role which is being advertised and could lead to increased recruitment time and costs. If searches are not conducted within the boundaries of the law this can open the employer to risks of legal action by a claimant.
Certain protections can be put in place and the first step should be to include a Social Media Policy in the Company Handbook which establishes the rules for recruitment purposes as well as others which we will look at in the coming weeks.
Bright Contracts has a fully comprehensive policy built into the software specifically for Social Media.
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
