Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The recent emergency amendment to redundancy legislation relates only to the right of an employee to claim a redundancy payment from their employer following periods on lay-off or short time work caused by the Covid-19 crisis.  Normally if an employee is laid off or put on short-time work, Section 12 of the Redundancy Payments Act provides that the employee can claim redundancy from their employer after specific periods on lay-off or short-time work.  This provision has been temporarily suspended until 10th August 2020 in circumstances where the lay-off or short time work arose as a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis.  The suspension was considered vital to ensure the future viability of businesses and to help prevent further permanent job losses. 

All other provisions of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 remain unchanged.  In situations where an employer has to make an employee redundant the employer is obliged to comply with the existing provisions outlined in the Redundancy Payments Act 1967.  Under section 17 of that Act an employer who proposes to dismiss an employee by reason of redundancy must give that employee notice of the redundancy at least 2 weeks before the date of dismissal. 

Employees may also be entitled to longer periods of notice under Section 4 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 depending on their length of service. The table attached gives details of the required notice for different periods of service.  Furthermore Section 5 and Schedule 2 of the 1973 Act provide that if an employee is made redundant and they are not required to work out the notice or there is no work available, they are entitled to payment in lieu of notice.

In the event of a dispute the employee's recourse is to make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for a determination by an adjudication officer.  The WRC is the organisation which is mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation.  The person in question should contact the Customer Service section of the WRC , who operate a telephone helpline at 1890 808090, in relation to their concerns regarding their employment rights.  A key function of the Customer Service section is to provide information in relation to employment, equality and industrial relations rights and obligations, and how to obtain redress where appropriate.

Notice periods under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973