Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation to protect employees. Where employees believe their employment rights have been breached, they have the right to refer complaints to the WRC for an adjudication and possible redress. The Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015 provide that where an employee has been unfairly dismissed, an adjudication officer and, on appeal, the Labour Court may make an order for the reinstatement, re-engagement or awarding of compensation to the employee. It is a matter for the adjudication officer and, on appeal, the Labour Court to determine which form of redress is appropriate, having regard to all the circumstances.

If the redress is an award of compensation and the employee has incurred financial loss attributable to the dismissal, the adjudication officer may, where it is just and equitable, award compensation of up to two years' remuneration. Where the unfair dismissal involved a protected disclosure, an award of up to five years' remuneration may be made. Where the employee has incurred no financial loss attributable to the dismissal, an award of up to four weeks' remuneration may be made.

Although the WRC does not track or record adjudication decisions under the Unfair Dismissals Act by the sum awarded, in 2020, a review of WRC adjudication decisions and recommendations was carried out on a once-off basis. That review showed that the second highest number of claims had been made under the Unfair Dismissals Acts. Of those, 180 awards had been made, totalling €2.07 million in compensation for unfair dismissals, a significant portion of the total sum of awards of just over €5 million made by the WRC that year.

The Unfair Dismissals Acts strike a reasonable balance between the interests of workers and employers. Ireland’s current system of unfair dismissals is comparable to similar systems in other jurisdictions. In my follow-up response, I will address what we are going to do regarding reviews of legislation.

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