Texting Trouble: The Importance of Notice Periods
Upholding employee rights and adhering to statutory requirements during notice periods is crucial. Even if an employer feels aggrieved by an employee’s resignation, it is vital to be aware that employment rights remain intact throughout the notice period. A recent WRC case highlights the financial and reputational risks of non-compliance during this critical time.
Ms Yewande Mosobalaje took a stand for her notice period rights by filing a WRC claim against her former employer, Sandonato Ltd t/a Lennox Fish and Chips. After starting her job in September 2023, Ms Mosobalaje gave two weeks’ verbal notice on 12th May 2024, which was accepted by Mr C on behalf of the employer. However, at 11.40pm the next day, he sent a text message stating there was no need to work her notice. Left without pay after 16th May, Ms Mosobalaje decided to take action by raising a WRC claim for notice pay. The respondent did not attend the hearing or provide an explanation for their absence.
As the complainant had eight months’ service, the WRC Adjudication Officer determined that the statutory notice, as per the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973, was one week. Concluding the respondent had wrongfully withheld the wages for this notice period, the officer ordered Sandonato Ltd to pay €450 to Ms Mosobalaje.
Takeaways for Employers
While it is possible for an employer to fairly dismiss an employee without notice, strict requirements must be met. For instance, a contractual right to dismiss without notice may apply in cases of gross misconduct. Additionally, there are alternatives to working the notice period, such as PILON (pay in lieu of notice).
Bright Contracts clients benefit from comprehensive templates for employee contracts, with various options in the Notice clause, including dismissal without notice, PILON, and alternative duties. These provisions offer flexibility and clarity for employers. Please contact us to learn more about the helpful resources and support we can offer you.
Start 2025 Right: The Importance of Employment Terms
The new year offers an ideal time for employers to review employee documentation and ensure compliance with legal requirements. A number of recent WRC cases provide an important reminder that the legal requirement to issue written employment terms to employees includes trainee and intern employees. By adhering to the requirement to provide employment terms in writing, employers foster a professional work environment and reduce the risk of potential legal disputes.
Daina Cathcart worked as a Trainee Picture Framer for Glenart Framing & Art Gallery Limited for several months, but was not provided with a written statement of employment terms. After the end of her employment, Ms Cathcart submitted a complaint to the WRC. In response, the Director agreed that a written statement had not been issued. Consequently, the WRC Adjudication Officer found the complaint well founded and ordered the respondent to pay the complainant compensation of €991, approximately two weeks’ remuneration.
Kelvin Tobun worked as an intern at Dx Compliance Ltd, but raised a WRC claim stating that he had not been given any written terms and conditions, despite asking for an employment contract, and had not been paid his wages in August or September 2023. The WRC Adjudication Officer found both complaints well founded and therefore ordered the respondent to pay Mr Tobun €609.12 for not having provided the required employment terms and €2,370 for the unpaid wages.
Takeaways for Employers
To conclude, it is crucial that employers are aware that the requirement to provide written employment terms applies to all employees, including employees working as trainees and interns. These cases are just two recent instances highlighting the financial and reputational risks of not complying with this requirement, there are many other examples with similar outcomes.
Bright Contracts offers template employment contracts and other resources to help employers meet their obligations. Visit our website or talk to a member of our team to find out more about the help we can offer you.
Case Law: Big Fine for Not Providing Employment Documents!
A Dental Technician was awarded over €13,000 after her claims, of not being provided with written employment terms, Unfair Dismissal, and lack of notice pay, were upheld.
The negative consequences of not providing appropriate employment documents were highlighted in this recent Workplace Relations Commission case (ADJ-00034847).
Background
The complainant, Sarah O’Connor, worked as a Dental Technician for the respondent, Cas Dental.
O’Connor alleged that she had not received a written statement of her terms of employment, or a disciplinary procedure, or an employee handbook.
The complainant also explained that she did not receive a letter inviting her to the dismissal meeting. The dismissal meeting lasted about a minute. She was not given notice pay or the right to appeal.
Defence
Mr Colum Sower, a director of the respondent, explained that he thought he had a period of one year to issue an employment contract and this was his understanding based on advice he had received from the Small Business Association.
Mr Sower gave evidence that he issued the complainant with verbal warnings and a written warning before the dismissal, although there was no final written warning or formal improvement plan.
A notice payment was not made, but the complainant was given a payment for good will.
The respondent accepted the procedure used was not perfect but argued that the complainant had not met the required performance standards and there are serious consequences of not meeting standards in the medical profession.
WRC Decision
The WRC Adjudicator found that the claim of not being issued with written terms of employment was well founded. The respondent was ordered to pay compensation of four weeks’ remuneration to the complainant.
The claim of lack of notice pay was also upheld and the WRC Adjudicator ordered the respondent to pay one week’s remuneration to the complainant.
The WRC Adjudicator concluded that the Unfair Dismissal claim was well founded.
There were breaches of the Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures, including no opportunity for representation at the dismissal meeting, and serious procedural flaws. The Adjudicator concluded that no reasonable employer would have dismissed the complainant in the circumstances and in this manner. The respondent was ordered to pay €12,000 compensation to the complainant.
Takeaways for Employers
It is essential to comply with the legal requirement to provide employees with written terms and conditions of employment within the required time limits. The excuse of receiving incorrect advice was not accepted by the WRC Adjudicator.
Bright Contracts clients can quickly and easily create legally compliant terms and conditions of employment using the step-by-step instructions in our software.
It is also important to understand legal obligations relating to notice pay.
Bright Contracts includes a legally compliant template contract clause about notice.
Finally, failure to follow reasonable procedures can result in serious consequences. In the O’Connor v Cas Dental Case, the respondent suffered reputational damage and was ordered to pay significant amounts of compensation.
Bright Contracts has a ready to go Employee Handbook which clients can tailor to their requirements. Policies and procedures are reviewed and updated in line with employment law changes and recommended practices.
The Importance of HR Policies & Procedures
HR Policies are formal rules and guidance for managers and employees setting out how to manage a range of employment issues in the workplace.
A policy is a guiding principle used to set direction in an organization. It should be used as a guide to decision making under a given set of circumstances within the framework of objectives set out by senior management
A procedure is a particular way of accomplishing something. It should be designed as a set of series of steps to be followed as a consistent and repetitive approach or cycle to accomplish an end result
Purposes of HR Policies and Procedures
HR policies and procedures give guidance on a range of employment issues for employees, managers and others with responsibility for people.
They:
- Set clear standards and expectations and creates awareness
- Transparently communicates the conditions of employment
- Ensures employees are treated equally and fairly
- Creates a safe and healthy work environment
- Creates a channel for addressing employee grievances and disputes
- Mitigate risks
How to communicate HR Policies
- Must be issued to all employees
- Must be in writing (company handbook)
- Employees must be informed of policies on commencement of employment
- Employees must sign off on policies
- Policies must be accessible and reviewed frequently
- Managers must be coached and sufficiently trained.
Rather than incorporating policies into the contract, you may consider;
- Referring to the policies and procedures and where they can be found
- Confirm that they don’t form part of the employee’s contract of employment
Essential Policies
- Some essential policies that should be included are:
- Disciplinary
- Grievance
- Dignity in the workplace (Bullying, Harassment, etc)
- Equal Opportunities
- Health and Safety Policy
- Retirement Policy
- Right to Disconnect
- Whistleblowing Policy
- Probation Policy
- Absence Policy
- Data Protection
- Confidentiality
- Hybrid Working
- Flexible Work
In order to build a good company, it is essential for employees to be able to work together peacefully. Having a proper set of policies and procedures in place can make this happen.
Bright Contracts handbook provides all the policies and procedures any SME would need. It allows you to edit the text to suit your company’s needs.
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Managing Annual Leave & Public Holidays
These topics create some confusion amongst employers, this blog post will hopefully line out any confusion that employers may have.
What is a public holiday?
A public holiday is nationally recognised day when most businesses and other institutions are closed. They usually occur on a special day or event. For example, St Patrick's Day and Christmas Day.
In 2022 we were introduced to a new once off public holiday that will take place on Friday, 18th of March. From 2023 there will be a new annual public holiday in February to celebrate St Brigid’s Day, it will happen on the first Monday in February.
When are the public holidays?
• New Year’s Day
• First Monday in February, or 1st of February if the date falls on a Friday (2023 onwards)
• Saint Patrick’s Day
• Once off public holiday (18th March 2022 only)
• Easter Monday
• First Monday in May
• First Monday in June
• First Monday in August
• Last Monday in October
• Christmas Day
• St Stephens Day
What are employees entitled to?
Most employees are entitled to a day paid leave on public holidays. There is an exception for certain part-time employees.
If you qualify for public holiday benefit, you are entitled to:
• A paid day off on the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day’s pay
• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
Part time employees are entitled to a day’s pay for the public holiday if they meet the following requirements:
• You have worked for your employer at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks before the public holiday
• The public holiday falls on the day you normally work
If you are required to work on the day the public holiday falls you are entitled to an additional day’s pay. If you do not work on the day, you should get one fifth of your weekly pay.
Annual Leave
We all know that employers are obliged to provide paid annual leave under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. This act applies to all employees working under a contract of employment.
The amount of holidays an employee receives is calculated by the amount of work the employee does in the leave year.
If an employee works 1365 hours in a leave year they will be entitled to 4 normal working weeks of annual leave.
To calculate annual leave for employees who have worked less than 1365 hours in the annual leave year, they receive one-third of a week for each month that 117 hours are worked or 8% of the hours worked up to a maximum of 4 working weeks.
Accrual of Annual Leave
Employees will begin to accrue annual leave from the first date of employment.
Accrued from hours:
- Physically and notionally worked
- All time on certified sick leave
- Time worked on public holidays
- Annual leave itself
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Employee Inductions: The Complete Guide
Workplace induction is the process of getting new employees familiar with your business. This includes helping them get comfortable with their new jobs and providing them with information to make them valuable team members. Research suggests that induction programmes benefit both employers and employees.
A good induction program sets the tone and expectations for employees. It also details their relationship with managers and the organisation. It helps new employees know the purpose, functions, and tasks of their job.
Topics to Cover During Induction
Usually, managers and supervisors are responsible for handling workplace induction. Induction training needs to include practical information that immerses the employee into the company culture. Meeting new colleagues and getting familiar with the workplace are essential. Everybody wants to feel welcomed and secure on their first day.
Heath and Workplace Safety
Learning health and safety procedures on the first day is necessary. This includes going over any specific safe work procedures your company has.
Documents and Policies
During induction make sure each employee fills out and signs all necessary employment paperwork. You should also help employees understand the incident reporting system at your company. A strong understanding of workplace procedures allows new employees to be the most dependable team members from the beginning.
Benefits of an effective induction programme
A well-designed induction programme results in a positive first experience of an orgaisation. It means the employee:
- Settles in quickly
- Integrates into their team
- Understands the oganisation’s values and culture
- Feels supported
- Becomes productive quickly
- Works to their highest potential
Without an effective induction, new employees can get off to a bad start, and lack clarity on their role and how it links to the organisation’s goals, which could impact on their intention to stay in the role.
What to avoid in Induction
- Providing too much, too soon - the inductee must not be overwhelmed by a mass of information, especially on the first day.
- Pitching presentations at an inappropriate level - where possible, presentations should be tailored to consider prior knowledge of new employees.
- Creating an induction programme which generates unreasonable expectations by overselling the job.
- Creating an induction programme that focuses only on administration and compliance but does not reflect organisational values.
An effective induction programme should be engaging and reassure the new employee that they have made the right decision to join the business.
The induction process should be evaluated to determine whether it is meeting the needs of the new recruits and the organisation. This should include opportunities for feedback at the end of the induction process and allow new recruits to highlight areas for improvement.
As well as getting feedback from new employees, it is important to identify key measures of success of the induction process.
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How to Prevent Discrimination in the Workplace
Workplace discrimination is based on certain prejudices and occurs when an employee is treated unfavourably because of gender, sexuality, race, religion, pregnancy, or disability. Discrimination generally falls into two principal categories, known as direct and indirect discrimination.
Direct Discrimination
Direct discrimination occurs when one individual receives less favourable treatment than another based on one or more of the nine grounds set out in the employment equality legislation. If a woman is paid less than a man to do the same job for no reason other than being a woman, this would represent direct discrimination.
Indirect Discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs when neutral requirements unjustly disadvantage a certain category of persons. An example of this may be requiring candidates for a manual labour position to have fluent English. This would put Irish nationals in a better position to secure the position over foreign nationals.
Discrimination by Association
Discrimination by association occurs when a person is treated less favourably based on their association with a person protected by one of the nine grounds. If someone is experiencing harassment at work because they are in a relationship outside work with a foreign national this would represent discrimination by association.
Discrimination by Imputation
If an employee is incorrectly identified as belonging to one of the categories of a person described under the nine grounds and receives less favourable treatment than colleagues this will amount to discrimination by imputation. If it is incorrectly assumed that an employee has a certain religious belief and that employee is treated less favourably on this basis this will be discrimination by imputation.
It's important to know that discrimination is carried out by individuals. Your organisation is liable for any actions carried out by an employee in the course of their employment. It is important to take action to reduce the possibility that any discriminatory action occurs.
As part of the action plan to reduce the risk of discrimination occurring within your organisation, you should ensure that all employees:
- Understand that the organisation is committed to preventing all forms of discrimination
- Are aware of and understand their roles and responsibilities with respect to promoting equality and diversity
- Know how to seek advice and make a complaint in respect of discrimination
- Are confident that the employer will treat any complaint seriously and that it will be dealt with promptly and fairly
- Understand that any incident of discrimination will be viewed as a serious disciplinary matter
- Understand the types of behaviour that will be regarded as discrimination.
Providing Training
You should ensure that all managers and supervisors undertake training in ensuring that the workplace remains discrimination-free. Equality training should not be confined to management-level employees. Training, information and skills development in relation to equality should be provided to staff at all levels throughout the organisation. All such training should be structured so that it is accessible to all employees.
- You can communicate on equality issues through:
- Induction training
- Tailored in-house awareness training programmes
- Employee briefings
- Staff representatives
- Information on staff notice boards
- In-house magazine articles
- The staff handbook and policy manual
- Line manager and employee guides
It is important that there is action taken to ensure that discrimination is not in the workplace.
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How to Handle Employee Resignations
When an employee resigns the employee will usually give full contractual notice of their resignation. However, an employee sometimes resigns in the heat of the moment. Regardless of the situation, you need to handle the situation properly.
What is Resignation?
Resignation is when an employee informs their employer that they’re quitting. The employment relationships can end in various ways, including:
- An employee gives you their notice of resignation by speaking with you or handing in a letter of resignation
- If your business ends the contract of employment
- When an employee reaches justifiable retirement age.
Once an employee has notified you of their intention to resign, they must complete a notice period. The length of this notice period can be found in the employee’s contract of employment.
During this period you can begin to search to find a replacement for the role.
Notice Periods in Ireland
Notice periods in Ireland vary by each employee’s employment contract. The employee’s length of service is also taken into account. However, there are two common types of notice to keep in mind:
Contractual notice: You can decide the amount of contractual notice an employee must give. For example, two months’ notice may be required for an employee who has worked with your business for two years.
Statutory notice: This is the length of notice an employee is legally required to give. This will depend on their length of service.
If an employee has worked with your business for at least 13 weeks, they must give you at least one week’s notice.
What to do when an employee resigns?
When an employee decides to resign, it is natural that you may try to convince them to stay. If instead, you accept the resignation, there are some key steps to follow:
Get the resignation in writing
Written confirmation of the resignation must include the employee’s name, the date, and a signature.
Respond to the resignation
Acknowledge your acceptance of the resignation. This can be a written or verbal response.
Prepare a handover pack
A handover pack can come in handy for when the departing employee’s replacement starts
Conduct an exit interview
An exit interview will give you the opportunity to understand the employee’s reasons for resignation. This is also a good chance to listen to feedback for further improvements.
Retrieve business property
Make sure to retrieve any business property from the departing employees. These items can include computers, devices, uniforms, etc.
Lastly, remember to end the professional relationship on a positive note. You never know but the departing employee may wish to return to the company in the future.
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Hiring Employees in Ireland
There are a number of steps you need to take when hiring employees in Ireland. This blog will help you get what you need to start hiring.
Background Checks
Under the Criminal Justice Act 2016, an adult will not have to disclose his or her conviction in respect of a range of minor offenses after seven years.
Data obtained by employers must be processed and held in compliance with data protection legislation. If a third party is conducting the background checks, the employer remains a data controller under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the third party acts as a processor as it would be processing the personal data of candidates on behalf of the employer.
The employer must ensure that the third party conducts all processing in compliance with the GDPR.
Medical Examinations
Individual offers of employment can be made conditional upon satisfactory health checks, but a prospective employer may be liable under a discrimination claim if the offer is not confirmed based on the information disclosed by the health check.
Drug and Alcohol Testing
- Employers are required to ensure the safety, health, and welfare at work of all employees. This includes ensuring the prevention of improper conduct or behaviour that is likely to put employees at risk. An employer may require an applicant to submit to a drug or alcohol test to the extent that this is required to ensure that the applicant may safely carry out the proposed role. These tests must be necessary and proportionate.
Contract of Employment
Employers are required to provide employees with key terms and conditions of employment within five days of commencing employment, commonly referred to as ‘The 5 Core Terms’. These include:
- The full name of the employer and employee
- Address of the employer
- The expected duration of the contract (temporary or fixed-term)
- The rate or method of calculating pay
- The employers’ expectations of working hours.
Forming a contract can be very complicated. That’s where Bright Contracts steps in. Bright Contracts breaks it all down into a logical series of questions and inputs. All you have to do is provide the answers. The software provides handy tips and guidance where questions might be difficult to understand.
Probationary Period
Although there is no statutory maximum probationary period, an employer will typically provide a probationary period of six months subject to extension at the employer’s discretion. In practice, probationary periods should not be longer than 11 months to ensure that an employee does not accrue service to maintain a claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts.
When hiring employees in Ireland it is important to conduct necessary background checks, medical checks, drug/alcohol tests, and issue a contract of employment within five days of commencing employment.
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Don't Forget About Your Valuable Retention Tool - Stay Interviews
Exit interviews are common amongst many Irish workforces. They are used to determine what prompted an employee to leave and to provide a final chance to persuade them to stay. Stay interviews give an organisation an opportunity to assess what improvements can be made now to avoid further resignations. They provide a more personal platform than what is currently in place from engagement or satisfaction surveys. It also allows for the building of trust between employees and managers, where both parties can discuss ideas.
A stay interview conducted between a manager and an employee can give an overview of what encourages the person to stay, the improvements that can be made, and what caused them to look for external opportunities. Identifying these issues early and acting on them contributes to long-term retention, increased motivation, improved productivity, and overall success for both the business and its people.
What should a stay interview look like?
Interviews don’t need to be long; they can be completed in as little as 20 minutes. Key questions to cover in the meeting could be what employees look forward to and what they dread about work each day, whether they would recommend the company to others, what would make their role more satisfying and how they would like to be recognised and valued.
What happens after a stay interview?
Organisations that decide to conduct stay interviews should remember that their workforce will expect an outcome so be prepared to implement positive changes. Failure to do so can increase frustrations amongst staff and make them feel that their voice is not heard.
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