Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 166: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position of a person who has been employed for a period of one year and is being dismissed on the basis that the person is too highly qualified for the job; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25411/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2001 protect employees from being unfairly dismissed from their jobs by laying down criteria by which dismissals are to be judged unfair and by providing an adjudication system and redress for an employee whose dismissal has been found to be unfair.

To qualify under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, an employee is normally expected to have at least one year's continuous service with the employer. A claim for redress under the Acts may be submitted initially to either of the adjudicative bodies specified in the Acts i.e. a Rights Commissioner or the Employment Appeals Tribunal within 6 months of the date of dismissal. Either party may appeal a determination of the Employment Appeals Tribunal to the Circuit Court. Redress may take the form of either financial compensation, re-instatement or re-engagement, whichever the relevant adjudicative body considers appropriate having regard to all the circumstances.

Alternatively, it is always open to individuals to seek professional legal advice on the remedies available under the common law in relation to dismissal. However, an individual is not entitled to recover both damages at common law for "wrongful dismissal" and redress under the Unfair Dismissals Acts for "unfair dismissal".

An explanatory booklet on the Unfair Dismissals Acts is available on the Department's website at www.entemp.ie or by contacting the Employment Rights Information Unit of the Department at (01) 631 3131 or on Lo-call 1890 201 615.