The HR Company Administrator

A food production company that moved its warehouse 22km for logistics purposes was forced to pay seven staff members a total of €35,000 between them in relocation expenses.

The move, from Causeway to Tralee, Co. Kerry, impacted the workers differently depending on where the individuals lived. Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (SIPTU) sought relocation expenses but the dispute could not be resolved at local level as the Kerry food producer was concerned that conceding would have knock-on effects within the entire Group. The Company also felt that the move was not far enough to warrant paying out relocation expenses and that paying a large sum in compensation would be excessive given the economic climate at the time.

The dispute became the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission, however, as agreement was not reached, it was referred to the Labour Court on 31^st January 2014. In accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, a Labour Court Hearing took place on 17^th April 2014.

The Court considered the submissions of the Company as well as the Union and noted that, while the distance was not a particularly significant one, the workers were entitled to receive some sort of compensation in response to the warehouse relocation. The Court also noted that employees personally helped the Company by transferring stock from the original premises to the new one. The workers involved exhibited a significant level of cooperation with their employer and the Court recommended that the Company should pay a figure of €5,000 to each of the seven claimants in full and final settlement of their claim.

 

 

The Data Protection Acts state that personal information held by a data controller (the Company/Organisation) should only be retained for as long as necessary for the purpose(s) for which the data was obtained.  If the personal information is no longer needed, the data should be disposed of in a secure manner or deleted.

 

However, as the Data Protection Acts do not specify what the different retention periods are for the various types of data, companies are required to pay attention to the statutory obligations imposed on them through Employment Legislation when determining the relevant retention periods.

According to the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, employers are required to keep several records in relation to employees’ leave and rest periods – Employers are obliged to record and keep details of Annual Leave, Public Holidays, Carer’s Leave, the hours worked by each employee each day as well as detailed records of start and finish times.

There are various requirements in terms of timeframes for the retention of these records, for instance;

• Annual Leave and Public Holiday records must be kept for 3 years

• Carer’s Leave records must be retained for 8 years

• Similarly, Parental Leave records and Force Majeure Leave records must be kept for 8 years

While there is no set period for the maintenance of Maternity or Adoptive Leave records, employers should ensure that they hold on to these details for a period not less than 12 months in the event that a dispute arises leading to a case – the time limit varies from 6 months to 12 months (in exceptional circumstances).

 

If, as an employer, you do not record employee working hours electronically (via a clock-in/clock-out system) you are required to complete a special form (an OWT1 form or a form not dissimilar to this) on a daily/weekly basis.

In relation to retaining hardcopy documents, it would be best to keep any original, signed documents on file as per the timeframes outlines above.

The key here is to ensure that the documents are available in the event that an inspection is announced. The records must be presented in a format that an inspector could easily understand.

Employers who fail to keep records as outlined above are liable, on summary conviction, to pay a fine of up to €1,900.

 

As an employer, you must be able to prove that you have informed each worker of his or her rights to rest/breaks. You must also be able to show that you have informed each worker that untaken breaks must be reported to you as the employer (or a representative of yours e.g. a manager).

If an employee claims that he or she was unable to take a break during work then the employer is obliged to look at the reasons for this. The employer is also responsible for looking at any health and safety issues that could have arisen as a result of this. As soon as is reasonably possible, the employer must allow the employee to take the rest period that was due to them. If the employee does not take the rest period at this stage then the matter is closed as the employer has fulfilled his or her duty by allowing the employee to take it.

Employers must even keep records on candidates who have aplied for positions within their company - even where the applicants have not been successful. The Data Commissioner considers a retention period of one full year to be appropriate in situations like this. 

 

 

Employers - Did you know that, as of today May 1st, 2014, New Legislation on the Use of Mobile Phones While Driving will be effective?

The amendment to the existing legislation governing phone use while driving, which was signed by Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, on 11^th April, 2014, makes it an offence for an individual to "hold” a mobile phone while driving a mechanically propelled vehicle in a public place.

Holding the mobile device includes supporting or “cradling” it with any part of your body (not just your hand) e.g. between the neck and shoulder. It is not a requisite that a person is actually engaged in a conversation on the phone. Similarly a person sending or even reading a text message (including SMS/MMS), or accessing information via the internet/e-mails etc. is committing an offence if "holding” the device as outlined above.

Sending or reading a text, in this instance, does not include anything done without touching the mobile phone or through voice activation.

The offence is punishable on conviction with a fine of up to €1,000 (first offence). The fine could reach €2,000 for a second offence. Three offences within 12 months could see a motorist face a 3 month jail term in addition to a fine. This is in addition to penalty points.

Close to 10,000 people were detected holding a mobile while driving in the Republic of Ireland between the beginning of January and the end of March 2014.

Assistant Garda Commissioner, John Twomey, communicated the staggering statistic that a motorist is four times more likely to have a collision when using a mobile phone.

Employers should issue employees with a notice detailing the important new regulations so that they are aware of their responsibilities. This notice should also serve to inform the employees that the Company will not cover the cost of road traffic offences including fines received under the penalty points system. Your notice should let employees know that these costs will be borne by the employee regardless of whether the vehicle was being driven for private or business use at the time the offences occurred.

We have prepared a sample Notice to Employees to help you to explain the new legislation – this can be downloaded by clicking the below image.

We hope you find it helpful!

A total of 48 people died in work-related accidents in 2012. Incidents involving vehicles were a big factor in this figure. The agricultural sector accounted for 21 of these deaths, construction accounted for 8 deaths with a further 7 coming from the fisheries sector. Unfortunately, work-related accidents leading to death also occurred in 7 other sectors in Ireland in 2012.

According to the Health and Safety Authority Summary of Workplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics 2011-2012, 2012 saw a staggering total of 6,619 non-fatal workplace injuries.

http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Corporate/stats_report_11_12.pdf

38.3% of the reported work-related injuries occurred in Dublin. The injuries reported varied in severity from superficial wounds to serious injuries like amputations, burns and poisonings.

 

Health and Safety in the workplace is of cardinal importance and all employers, including the self-employed, are required to have Health and Safety protocols and documentation in place. The safety statement must relate to the specific workplace and work activities and must be based on the risk assessment of the hazards that may affect the employees or clients of/visitors to the Company.

It is vitally important to know who to call on behalf of your employees in the unfortunate event of an emergency or accident occurring in the workplace.

We have created a concise form so that employers can collect essential 'Emergency Contact Details' quickly and easily.

Blank forms should be circulated to employees and they should be asked to fill them out and return them to management. The information should be stored confidentially and only used or imparted to a third party (like the ambulance service) in the case of an emergency.

Simply click on the below image to download your copy of our ‘Emergency Contact Details’ form.

 

 

A significant number of employees regularly work with Visual Display Units (VDUs) as part of their role.

Employers – Did you know that there are a range of measures that you must adhere to with regard to VDUs in your workplace?

*The following are the categories of employees who will be covered by these Regulations;

1. If the employee has no choice but to the use the VDU to carry out his or her work.

2. If the employee normally uses the VDU for continuous periods of more than one hour.

3. If the VDU is generally used by the employee on a daily basis.

 

Please note that a normal laptop is not covered by these Regulations due to the fact that the keyboard is tilt-able and separate from the screen so as to allow the user to find a comfortable working position hence avoiding fatigue in the arms or hands of the employee.

*In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts 2005 and 2010, employees working with VDUs are entitled to have their workstation assessed in line with the following requirements;

1. The Company must ensure that the general use of the equipment is not a source of risk for the employee.

2. The Company is obliged to perform an analysis of the employee’s workstation in order to evaluate the safety and health conditions to which it may give rise.

3. The Company must take appropriate measures to remedy any risks found during the workstation analysis.

*Upon the commencement of their employment employers must ensure that;

1. Employees are trained in the use of the VDU workstation and given information about health and safety factors.

2. Employees receive periodic breaks or changes of routine (away from the VDU).

1. Employees receive appropriate eye and eyesight tests (or may opt for either) before working with VDUs as well as at regular intervals throughout their employment with the Company.

If an employee experiences any eyesight/physical problems as a result of working with a VDU, the employee should highlight the issue to his or her manager as soon as possible.

*Some notable points for employers;

•             If special corrective appliances (glasses) are required exclusively for working at a display screen, they must be provided by the employer at no cost to the employee. The costs of minimum requirement frames and lenses must be borne by the employer.

•             Should the glasses be used also for other purposes the employer must cover the cost of the correction required for working with display screens only.

•             Employer obligations relating to the various components of the workstation (from chairs to the display screen, lighting, noise levels, heat, radiation and humidity) are also included in the Acts.

We have created a draft VDU Policy for you to incorporate in your Employee Handbook alongside all of your other HR policies.

Click the below image in order to download our draft policy that you can tailor for your Company.

 

 

The 2012 Annual Report of the Employment Appeals Tribunal has highlighted some astounding statistics 

• According to Chairperson Kate T O’Mahony’s foreword “there are presently approximately 5,000 cases awaiting a hearing, of these 37% are unfair dismissals cases.”

• According to the Chairperson’s foreword, “In its appellate jurisdiction the Tribunal deals with disputes about matters occurring during the course of the employment relationship. A notable trend in recent years has been the steady increase each year in the percentage of the Tribunal’s appellate work which, significantly doubled from 12% in 2011 to 24% in 2012.”

• In 2012, employees had some sort of additional representation at the hearing before the Employment Appeals Tribunal on 1,917 occasions – employers, however, only had representation in 1,116 cases. It is clear that unfair dismissal cases see the highest level of representation but it is interesting to note that employee parties had representation in 1,071 cases and employer parties only had representation on 740 occasions.

• In 2012, the Employment Appeals Tribunal received 5,623 cases.

 

• The number of appeals against the recommendations of the Rights Commissioners received in 2012 was 1,349 – this number represents a 38% increase on the previous year and a staggering 81% increase on the 2010 total.

• The top 3 categories of cases referred to the Employment Appeals Tribunal in 2012 were Unfair Dismissal (1,742), Redundancy (1,239) and Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment (929).

 

• In 2012, the Employment Appeals Tribunal awarded almost €7million in 377 Unfair Dismissal cases. The average compensation awarded was more than €18.5k. *96 claimants received more than €25k

 

• The number of Payment of Wages cases disposed of in 2011 was 154 – this number rose by 164% to 407 in 2012.

• The number of Maternity Protection Acts appeals rose from just 2 in 2011 to 11 in 2012.

 

In the 6 month period between January and June 2013, The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) conducted 2,755 workplace inspections. A staggering 1,458 (53%) of these inspections were unannounced!

NERA’s update on activity from January to September 2013 illustrated the following:

*In the first 9 months of 2013 the NERA Customer Service Unit provided information to more than 48,484 people. The vast majority of people who received information from the Customer Service Unit were employees or former employees (an estimated 71%).

 

 

*Redundancy, Working Hours, Conditions and Terms of Employment, Payment of Wages and Unfair Dismissal were the main topics/issues dealt with during the period.

 

 

*The Workplace Relations Customer Services (which deals with complaints in relation to all employment rights bodies) received 11,787 Employment Rights Complaints between January and July of 2013. This number represents a significant increase on the same period in 2012 when 9,809 complaints were received.

 

 

*4,009 workplace inspection cases were completed in the first 9 months of 2013. These cases involved more than 44,100 employees. This represents a significant increase on the 2012 figure of 3,140. The amount of unpaid wages recovered totalled €583,650.

 

 

*In the period between January and September 2013, 33 cases were referred for prosecution. 47 convictions were recorded in cases heard by the Courts during the first 9 months of last year.

http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Publications_Forms/NERA_Update_September_2013.pdf