PIP or exit strategy?

Have you been put on an employee performance improvement plan, even though your performance has been excellent to date? If so, the first seeds of doubt may be growing in your mind. Is my employer trying to build a case against me in order to dismiss me? Have there been changes in your work routine? Have profitable areas been assigned to others? There may be other less obvious signs that your employer is preparing to let you go. If you have been placed on a performance improvement plan and are concerned about your losing your job, it helps to talk. Book a consultation; with one of our experts today. We are experienced in helping many clients negotiate exit packages which allowed them to move on and leave the past behind

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Whistleblower awarded five years salary by Workplace Relations Commission

A compensation award of five years salary was made by the Workplace Relations Commission to a massage therapist who suffered penalisation following a protected disclosure which she made to her employer at the time. The protected disclosure was in relation to the requirement for the complainant to provide sexual services to clients during her employment.

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Employee wins unfair deduction case

With the uncertainity that the COVID-19 pandemic caused for many businesses, some employers turned to pay cuts to avoid having to make roles redundant. A recent Workplace Relations (WRC) adjudication dealt with this subject. It outlined the position which will probably be followed by other adjudicators. The case of A Project Manager/Translator v An Interpretation and Translation Group ADJ-00028367 revolved around an employer implementing a 15% pay cut due to the alledged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business using a variation clause contained in the employee’s employment contract.

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Unfair Redundancy Case

Why genuine communication is important

In a recent case before the Workplace Relations Commission there was a real redundancy situation on the face of it, but proper communication between the employer and employee did not take place. This resulted in a decision of unfair dismissal being made against the employer.

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Formal or informal

How do I raise a problem at work? Should I raise it informally or formally? If you find yourself having to deal with a problem at work what should you do next? Problems can vary in size and importance. Some can be minor irritations, like always being last in the queue for coffee. Others can take on a more obstructive role, like harassment. While more can register somewhere in the middle. Whatever the problem, the fact is, it needs to be sorted. We look at when an informal chat is useful, and how to prepare for it. We also consider problems which are best dealt with by way of a formal complaint using all of the procedures available in your workplace and in Irish employment law.

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A short summary of what happens when you claim

 Deciding whether to claim or not.

The unfair dismissal legislation is open to workers in Ireland who have completed twelve months employment with their employer.

You may be feeling angry at being unfairly dismissed. You may wish to seek justice for the wrong which you have suffered. It is good to seek compensation for an unfair dismissal, but at some stage practical reality has to be considered. How much compensation can I expect to receive? How is compensation for unfair dismissal calculated? How much does it cost to bring an unfair dismissal claim to the Workplace Relations Commission?

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What’s your motivation ?

It’s no secret that Trade Secrets need to be kept... well... secret. It is also important that Whistle blowers are protected. The European Union (Protection of Trade Secrets) Regulations 2018  ,which came into effect in June 2018, implements the European Union (Protection of Trade Secrets) Regulations 2018 . It attempts to reconcile the difficulty in protecting both issues. On balance it favours the protection of Trade Secrets over the protection of the whistle blower.

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Recent case law places more obligations on employers offering fixed term contracts

A recent High Court case has set down criteria which must be considered by employers when offering a fixed term contract. The case arose from a much contested dispute between the Board of Management of Malahide Community School and a teacher. The teacher successfully brought an unfair dismissal claim against her employer. The school appealed the finding of the Labour Court that the teacher had not freely entered into a fixed term contract with full knowledge and informed consent of its implications. The High Court, in rejecting the appeal, set out a number of criteria which must be considered by employers when offering a fixed term contract.

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Employee rights

In this article we look at the rights of an employee where an employer moves the location of their workplace.

My employer has told me that the location of the business will be moving, what should I do next?

If your employer moves your place of work to a different location, you should first of all check your contract of employment for a relocation or mobility clause.

A mobility or relocation clause will state that the employer has the ability to move location within certain limits. This will allow the employer to move employees to a new location, unless the move is totally unreasonable, e.g. to a different country, where this is not covered in the contract.

Many excellent employers provide reimbursement schemes for employees who have had to move in order to relocate.

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PAYE modernisation helps employees and employers

As the song says Well it’s bye bye to the P45 (and P60). (Apologies to fans of the original American Pie.)

Since 1 January 2019 the use of P45s and P60s have been discontinued. For employees who have left employment and have had to chase their former employer for a P45, this will come as welcome news. This is part of the Revenue Commissioners PAYE modernisation process. They are overhauling the PAYE system, which was first introduced in 1960. Employers must now report their employees’ pay and deductions to revenue as they occur. Employers are obliged to furnish to the Revenue Commissioners, information on any employees leaving their employment in real time.

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Pregnancy related unfair dismissal

The Labour Court , in an appeal hearing, awarded €17,000 to an employee dismissed because of her pregnancy related illness.

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Checking work Emails outside normal work hours can add up to a breach

Email communication has been a boon to business communication. So has the use of a smart phone for work purposes. Like everything, overuse can lead to abuse. That’s what happened in a case which went as far as the Irish Labour Court. The employee Grainne O’Hara was awarded €7,500 for repeated breaches of the Working Time legislation in Ireland by her employer Keepak Convenience Foods. (DWT1820)

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Questions to ask

Do you believe you were unfairly selected for redundancy? How can you tell if you were unfairly made redundant? Did your employer get it wrong when they chose you for redundancy?

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What to do if you are unfairly dismissed from your employment.

10 Point Guide

If you feel you have been unfairly dismissed in Ireland, this quick 10 point guide will help you decide whether to make a claim for unfair dismissal or not.

Let’s look at the main points of unfair dismissal law in Ireland and what decisions you have to make.

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How is compensation calculated in Irish employment law ?

Working it out

If you are preparing a claim for unfair dismissal you need to consider the question of compensation and how it is calculated.
How does the WRC adjudicator work out the amount of compensation which may be due to you ?

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What is a career break?

Am I entitled to one ?

When we use the term career break, we are usually referring to an agreed period of absence from our job. This might be to enable us study, obtain work experience, devote time to family or simply to recharge our batteries. The job must be held open for us on our return. Otherwise it is simply ending your employment.

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Am I entitled to get paid if I missed a day because of storm Ophelia?

As the country recovers from the impact of storm Ophelia, minds turn to practical matters like pay and entitlements.

The answer to the above question depends to a large extent on who pulled the trigger first.

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 Losing your job

What next?

Whether you have been dismissed from your employment, or have been made redundant, losing your job can be very traumatic. We take a look at how employment law protects you in Ireland.

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What to do when it’s time to decide

When you have been dismissed from work, it can take a while before you start to think of the future in any detail. Your thoughts are centred on coping with the day to day adjustments that follow the loss of a job. Adjusting to a new routine. Wondering how that happened. Looking for a new job. All that paperwork.
Eventually the mist clears and you start to wonder, was my dismissal fair?

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Translating employment documents

Understanding translation

Employers under Irish law are not obliged to translate employment documents into other languages. In the past, employers usually produced employment documents in our second language, English, with mainly Government agencies and Gaeltacht employers offering the choice of our first language, Irish.

A lot has changed since then.

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What should you ask when you are being fired?

Questions to ask that will help you later

Being told that you are being dismissed or laid off from work can cause so much stress that it becomes difficult think clearly. It is important to have a plan in advance, so that you regain some sense of control.

We examine the important questions to ask when you are being dismissed from work in Ireland.

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 The area of fairness in the workplace is a broad one. We have seen many examples in the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court decisions, of cases which have been lost mainly because the employer did not follow the rules of natural justice. Impartiality, balance and fairness are at the core of natural justice when it comes to carrying out disciplinary or any procedures in the workplace.

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Working Parents

The work life balance

This article looks at the rights that parents have in the workplace in Ireland and the work life balance. Some people are happy to spend more time at work than at home. For others the reverse is true. Some have never really given it much thought. We look at what you can do if you want to balance home life with work responsibilities.

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We all enjoy a bit of banter at work. Sometimes it can brighten a spell of boredom at work. It’s when it goes a step beyond banter that it can become bullying. When the joking has an edge of intimidation and threatening, it is time to put an end to it. No one likes working in an environment where they are constantly subjected to verbal abuse, however subtle it may appear. It can be hard to complain about bullying in these circumstances. It may feel like you are making a big fuss over nothing. You may feel pressure to toughen up. You may believe that your job is at risk if you show any signs of weakness.
The reality is that no one enjoys being bullied at work, and under the law, no one has to endure it.
It is a proven fact that bullying leads to decreased productivity. Any employer who is aware of that will want to eliminate bullying from the workplace.

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