Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Under current legislation, a complainant is permitted to refer a complaint of unfair dismissal under the Unfair Dismissals Act and a complaint of discriminatory dismissal under the Employment Equality Act arising from the same facts. However, a person is not permitted to proceed to have both complaints heard. As currently framed, section 101 of the Employment Equality Act provides an effective bar against double recovery for dismissal in these circumstances. The proposed amendment to section 84 is a necessary amendment to section 101 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 and ensures in the new framework that a complainant cannot recover under both the Unfair Dismissals Act and the Employment Equality Act in respect of the same dismissal. This objective is achieved by providing that a person who referred a dismissal complaint under both Acts must elect between one or the other by a prescribed date or date to be inferred from regulations by the Minister. If the person fails to elect by this date, the discriminatory dismissal complaint will be deemed to have been withdrawn.