Despite current skills shortages and employment figures being close to full employment, redundancy related complaints still arise and two recent decision by the Labour Court and WRC, are an useful reminder for the need to apply correct and fair selection criteria and processes, when making employees redundant.

Following on from my last article on break and rest entitlements that employees have under the working time legislation, a recent Labour Court decision is note worthy in that an award of €150 by an Adjudication Officer was increased significantly to €15k on appeal (Ref DWT 1914 - Sandra Cooney's Home Care Ltd & Deirdre Morgan).

This article outlines a quick summary of the key provisions that apply in respect of employees' entitlements to breaks and rest periods when working, and in particular it must be stressed that records to support that breaks are being taken are required . A recent WRC decision awarded €1k compensation to a retail employee, when it was determined their records were inadequate.

This article outlines some key considerations when setting up a workplace investigation, whether it is to deal with alleged misconduct, a bullying or harassment complaint or an employee grievance. Taking time at the outset to ensure that an investigation is correctly framed and structured, will help ensure that all parties receive a fair hearing and that outcomes will be robust and stand up to scrutiny if challenged.

As we head into the fourth public holiday of the nine statutory public holidays available to employees each year, here is a quick summary in respect of public holiday entitlements in the workplace.

Another recent case dealing with the issue of the forced retirement of a legal secretary who had 40 years service, once again highlights the difficulties that employers face in implementing retirements, when they have not established a fixed retirement age, on objective grounds, either contractually or through custom and practice (Ref ADJ - 00016645).

The much talked about Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 finally comes into effect today 4th March 2019, and whilst the focus of discussion to date has often been on the restriction on zero hours contracts, there are other noteworthy provisions being introduced that employers need to be aware of.

The Court of Appeal decision last October in Irish Rail v McKelvey has provided some much needed clarity for HR practitioners on the issue of whether legal representation should be permitted at internal disciplinary hearings, following the confusion caused by the earlier decision of Eagar J in Lyons v Longford & Westmeath ETB.

A recent decision of an Adjudication Officer under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 - 2015 found that the Complainant had made a prima facie case of discrimination on grounds of gender, and had been dismissed due to her pregnancy and not due to reasons of redundancy as purported by the Respondent Company.The Complainant was awarded €14k compensation.

This recommendation by the Labour Court (LCR21798) is a very useful reminder about the significant potential cost of not adhering to fair procedures when terminating employment during the probationary period.