Prosecutions by NERA result in fines of over €100,000 in first nine months of 2012
Figures contained in the NERA Quarterly Update, Issue 3, 2012 show that in the period January to September 2012, a total of 57 cases were referred by NERA to the Courts for prosecution. 46 convictions were recorded in cases heard by the Courts over the period resulting in fines of €102,000 being imposed and arrears of wages of over €37,700 being awarded to employees.
Over 10,000 complaints received by WRCS in first nine months of 2012
The Quarterly Update also highlights that Workplace Relations Customer Services (www.workplacerelations.ie), based in NERA, is now the single portal for all employment rights complaints.
In the first nine months of 2012, a total of 10,199 employment rights complaints were received by the WRCS. These are broken down as follows:
Employment Appeals Tribunal - 2,536
Early Resolution Service - 1
Equality Tribunal - 515
Labour Court - 376
NERA - 328
Rights Commissioners - 6,443
Workplace Inspections by NERA results in the recovery of over €650,000 in unpaid wages in first nine months of 2012
NERA carries out workplace inspections to ensure compliance with employment rights legislation. In the period January to September 2012 a total of 3,140 inspection cases were completed involving over 51,000 employees. The amount of unpaid wages recovered was €659,435.
For more detailed information go to www.employmentrights.ie
Information from NERA on Public Holiday Entitlement Christmas 2012
It’s that time of year when debates arise in many workplaces over entitlements to Public Holidays and appropriate payment for them. NERA, the employment rights body have helpfully set out guidance in relation to this festive challenge for all concerned. This guidance is set out below:
“Full-time workers have immediate entitlement to benefit for public holidays and part-time workers have entitlement to benefit when they have worked 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks.
Christmas Day, Stephens Day and New Year’s Day are public holidays. Christmas Eve is not a public holiday.
When a person works on either or both of these days they are entitled to be paid for each day in accordance with their agreed rates. In addition they also have an entitlement to benefit for each public holiday. This can be different for each public holiday and each employee depending on the individuals work pattern.
If the business is closed on the public holiday and an employee would normally be due to work then they get their normal days’ pay.
If the business is open and the employee works, they are entitled to either, paid time off or an additional days pay. This additional days’ pay is what was paid for the normal daily hours last worked before the public holiday.
If an employee is not normally rostered to work then they will be entitled to one fifth of their normal weekly wage.
If someone ceases to be employed during the week before a public holiday, having worked the four weeks preceding that week, they are entitled to benefit in respect of that public holiday
If a person is on temporary lay-off they are entitled to benefit for the public holidays that fall within the first thirteen weeks of layoff.”
Source: NERA Information Services
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
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Labour Court Abolishes Three JLCs
The reform of the employment regulation arena has been continuing apace in the second half of 2012.
As indicated elsewhere on the Bright Contracts site, the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 commenced on 1 August last. This Act amended the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2004, and in particular in relation to Registered Employment Agreements, Joint Labour Committees and Employment Regulation Orders. It also amended the Employment Permits Act 2006, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act 1984 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994.
On 2nd August 2012, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr. Richard Bruton T.D. applied to the Labour Court under Section 40 of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 for the abolition of the three Joint Labour Committees (JLC's) - Aerated Waters and Wholesale Bottling JLC, Clothing JLC and Provender Milling JLC. The Labour Court held an inquiry on Monday October 1st 2012 into the application. Any interested party was entitled to attend the inquiry and/or submit representations regarding the draft Orders to the Court in advance of the inquiry.
As stipulated in the legislation the Labour Court issued a notice that in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 40 of the Industrial Relations Act 1946, it had made three Orders entitled
- Aerated Waters and Wholesale Bottling (Abolition) Order 2012,
- Clothing (Abolition) Order 2012 and
- Provender Milling (Abolition) Order 2012.
The purpose of the Orders, which are effective from 12th October, 2012, is to abolish the Aerated Waters and Wholesale Bottling Joint Labour Committee, the Clothing Joint Labour Committee and the Provender Milling Joint Labour Committee.
The Orders have been published and copies may be purchased direct from the Government Publications Sale Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
The remaining JLC’s as set out on the Labour Court Website cover the following categories:
- Agricultural Workers
- Catering (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire)
- Catering (Other)
- Contract Cleaning
- Hairdressing
- Hotels (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire)
- Hotels (Other excluding Cork)
- Law Clerks
- Retail Grocery and Allied Trades
- Security Industry
Further information can be read at www.djei.ie and www.labourcourt.ie
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Bright Contracts is category finalist in Meath Business and Tourism Awards
We attended the awards ceremony last night in the Pillo Hotel in Ashbourne. It was a great night of mingling with the best of businesses and it’s great to see how Irish businesses are thriving across all sorts of industries. We were delighted to be nominated for the ‘Best New Business’ award.
The judging panel had great things to say about Bright HR.
Even though we didn’t leave the stage in victory, we came away with a nicely framed memento and it’s already been taken off Paul’s hands and is hanging on the office wall!
Hopefully we will take the top prize in the future as we continue to spread the word about Bright Contracts across Ireland and beyond!
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
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Grievance Procedures must contain right to refer a grievance to a third party industrial relations institution. – Labour Court
A contention by a company that there is no requirement for the company's grievance procedure to contain a provision requiring a referral to an external independent third party was rejected by the Labour Court in a recent recommendation, LCR20406.
Having considered the submission of both parties, the Court recommended that the company’s grievance procedure should be amended to include the right to refer a grievance to a third party industrial relations institution. This is consistent with the procedure set out in the Bright Contracts Handbook.
The matter was referred by their union to the Labour Court on behalf of workers who had many years of employment with the company.
They claimed that the Company had unilaterally withdrawn their right to avail of the State's industrial relations machinery and demanded the reversal of what they described as a unilateral change to their terms and conditions of employment.
At the Labour Court hearing the company had rejected the Union's claim that its grievance procedure was incomplete. They argued that the company's grievance procedure was an internal process that complied with all normal business standards and that there is no requirement for the Company's grievance procedure to contain a provision requiring a referral to an external independent third party.
The Labour Court, in outlining its recommendation, stated the following:
“Having considered the submission of both parties the Court recommends that the Grievance Procedure should be amended to include the right to refer a grievance to a third party industrial relations institution. The Court so recommends.”
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
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Read more at www.labourcourt.ie >
Employment Appeals Tribunal rules in relation to company handbook and contract of employment
The Employment Appeals Tribunal recently upheld a previous recommendation of the Rights Commissioner in favour of the employer in a case where the former employee claimed that the company handbook and employment contract were invalid by virtue of the employer's correct title not being present on the handbook and contract.
The documents did not refer to the limited company status of the employer but did contain the employer's trade name and was signed by the employee.
The EAT found that the employer had fulfilled their obligations and found in their favour.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
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Read more at www.eatribunal.ie >
Work on the JLC reviews and the Codes of Practice is underway – Minister Bruton
Speaking at an Employment Law Association of Ireland Conference titled: “Current Fundamental Issues in Employment Law” on 28 September 2012, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton confirmed that work on the review of JLC’s and key Codes of Practice is underway.
During the course of an address that dealt with a wide range of issues, Minister Bruton addressed the fact that the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 was enacted on 24 July 2012 and commenced on 1 August 2012. He highlighted that
- the Act provides for a radical overhaul of the system in order to make it fairer and more responsive to changing economic circumstances and labour market conditions.
- it reinstates a robust system of protection for low paid and vulnerable workers in these sectors in the aftermath of the 2011 High Court ruling in the John Grace Fried Chicken case.
- it provides for more wide-ranging measures required to strengthen the legal framework for EROs and REAs in light of legislative deficiencies identified in the High Court judgment.
- it provides that reviews of the JLCs will be carried out by the Labour Court, as soon as practicable after its commencement. The outcome of these reviews will inform the Labour Court as to whether any JLC should be maintained in its current form, amalgamated with another JLC or its establishment order amended.
Minister Bruton also indicated that he has has asked the Labour Court to begin the abolition of three JLCs that had been identified as no longer fulfilling a function in the Duffy-Walsh Report.
He has also asked the Labour Relations Commission to begin work on two Codes of Practice.
- The first on Sunday Working, will provide guidance to employers, employees and their representatives in sectors covered by EROs, on arrangements that may be put in place to comply with the options specified in the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997.
- The second will address the standardisation of benefits in the nature of pay – including overtime and how and when it becomes payable – across sectors covered by JLCs.
The Minister confirmed his understanding that preparatory work on the JLC reviews and the Codes of Practice is underway.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
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Absence of employment contract and staff handbook cited in recent determination
Determination of Employment Appeals Tribunal: -
"Apart from it being a legal requirement the issuing of terms and conditions of employment to employees is of mutual benefit to all concerned. It gives a reference point in the employer/employee relationship. An absence of that document together with no contract of employment is a recipe for misunderstandings and indeed disputes. In addition no staff handbook containing a disciplinary and grievance procedure was in evidence in this case. Again this is a major flaw in the conduct of the respondent when dealing with staff.
When an employer instructs an employee to leave the workplace for no good reason it is not unreasonable for the employee to consider him/herself dismissed. When that instruction is done in an abusive aggressive manner then it is very reasonable for the listener to conclude she/he has lost their job. In these circumstances the Tribunal finds that the claimant was dismissed and that this dismissal was unfair. Accordingly, the claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 2007 succeeds and the claimant is awarded €12,290.98 as compensation under those Acts.
The appeal under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts is allowed and the appellant is awarded €709.02 as compensation under those Acts."
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
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Read more at www.eatribunal.ie >
Failure to provide written terms and conditions of employment - award upheld at EAT
This was another appeal held this summer on a Rights Commissioner recommendation where the employee was awarded €900 as he had not been provided with written terms and conditions of employment. The employer in this case appealed the recommendation on the basis that the award would place an unreasonable financial strain on the employer as he had already reduced his employee numbers and was operating at a loss. He also put forward that the employee had suffered no loss or detriment as the written terms and conditions of employment given to him post termination of employment were the same as the unwritten terms and conditions in place during his employment.
The employee held that not having written terms and conditions of employment was detrimental to him as he did not know what to do when he was made redundant. He put forward that if he had been in possession of such a document he would have been better equipped to raise a grievance in respect of that redundancy.
The Employment Appeals Tribunal upheld the recommendation of the Rights Commissioner, being satisfied that the employees had not been given his terms and conditions of employment, in writing, within two months of commencing employment as required under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts, 1994 and 2001.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
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Employee who was dismissed after safety complaint awarded €36,050
Mr Richard Doody from Mallow was dismissed from his position with Denis J Downey, a haulage and warehousing firm based in Co. Cork after he made a complaint to the Health and Safety Authority about potentially dangerous conditions at the firm.
The company admitted that the decision to dismiss the employee was directly linked to the complaint he had made about the firm to the HSA. The Managing Director, Denis Downey acknowledged that they had a sense of betrayal and decided to terminate Mr Doody’s employment when they discovered that he had made the complaint. Mr Doody claimed that he had made a number of approaches to the company about his concerns about the manner in which the transport of hazardous cargoes was being documented before making an anonymous complaint to the HSA. He had understood that his identity would not be made known to his employer.
The EAT found that Mr Doody had been unfairly dismissed and awarded him €35,000 in compensation along with €1,050 in respect of his claim under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts. In its decision the EAT referred to section 27 (3) (b) of the Safety Health & Welfare at Work Act 2005, which provides that an employer shall not penalise or threaten penalisation against an employee for making a complaint or representation to his or her Safety Representative or employer or the Authority, as regards any matter relating to safety, health and welfare at work.
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Read more at www.irishexaminer.com >
