Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is most unfortunate. This is a fundamental part of the Bill. If somebody is employed only 12 months and is dismissed, he or she can take a case to the unfair dismissals tribunal and get a maximum of 104 weeks' salary in compensation. If the person is employed for 11 months, he or she can get a maximum of four weeks' compensation. That seems wrong.

I plead with the Minister to think about this between now and Report Stage. The provisions in this Bill will generally be used by workers on low pay. There is an incentive for an employer to let the matter go to the WRC and be appealed to the Labour Court which in all would take 15 months. Who will wait 15 months for four weeks' compensation, or at most eight weeks, if, for example, the worker makes a complaint that he or she did not get the proper information or whatever and was dismissed as a result of making the complaint? We are talking about a maximum of 104 weeks' compensation. We are not saying that 104 weeks' compensation should be paid in every case.