industrial relations

procedures before official industrial action can take place

1) have secret ballot 2)51% or more have to vote in favour of strike 3)give the employees 1 wks notice before commencing the strike 4) have permission from trade unions and ICTU

role of labour court

1) investigate disputes- non legally binding recommendation to both parties 2)register collective agreements-once registered the are legally binding 3)interpret codes of practice-explains codes set by WRC, will also investigate breach of codes 4)hear appeals against AO recommendation-will issue a legally binding recommendation 5)joint labour committees-consist of representatives of employers and workers in particular industry, if make a decision its legally binding eval- is a court of last resort for solving conflicts therefore most employees and employers accept recommendations, also has respect of all parties in industrial relations so recommendations are majority accepted

impact of trade disputes on stakeholders

1)employees- will not be performing their duties resulting in conflict between them and management, not receive wage during official strike, prolonged action may result in financial hardship, become unmotivated and unproductive 2)customers/consumers- disruption to bus caused by work to rule or official strike will result on consumers being unable to purchase products/services, may lose faith in brand/ might change brand/bus 3)investors-bad publicity for bus, share price may fall, reducing market value of investors stake, prolonged IA reduce profit levels and chance of dividend being payed at end of year, investors may sell shares 4)management/employer- more man time and effort required to resolve conflict, left time focusing on bus goals, must follow agreed codes of practice, distraction may lead to production delays and wastage, reduce ability to encourage intrapreneurship

grounds for fair dismissal

1)incapable of doing job- persistent lateness pr absenteeism either short of long term, employer must have documented proof, must show you were made aware of problem 2)incompetence- inability to do job, poor work performance/failure to meet targets 3)qualifications- 2 ways, 1 you mislead employer about qualifications when applying or 2 employer made continued employment conditional for you to obtain further qualifications and you failed to achieve 4)misconduct- gross misconduct may give rise to instant dismissal without notice(assault, drunk, theft, bullying or breach of employers practice) 5)redundancy- due to closure, competition, decline in demand, needs to show proof redundancy situation exists and job no longer required 6)contravening the law- eg if need licence to work and you lose it on drunk driving charge you cannot work without breaking the law and therefore dismissal fair

types of industrial action available for employees

1)official strike- employees refuse to enter workplace or perform their work duties, official strike involves secret ballot, 1 week notification to employer and sanction by ICTU, union members hold picket outside workplace 2)work to rule- employees only undertake exact jobs written in job description/contract of employment, not overtime or extra work 3)overtime ban- employees refuse to work extra hours, can cause major disruption, leading to lost orders, sales, especially at peak trading times eg employees at airline not doing overtime at holidays

types of redress for employees who have been unfairly dismissed

1)re-instatement-employee returns to job and receives damages for lost pay, treated as if you had never been dismissed, receive money from time of dismissal to hearing, this remedy rarely used 2)Re-engagement- means you will be given your job back but only from a particular date, does not receive damages or compensation for loss of earnings, often used if adjudicator believes employee contributed to dismissal even though it was unfair, rarely used 3)compensation- most common remedy, compensation awarded for the period they were dismissed for, max time 2yrs, if dismissed for making protected disclosure max pay is 5yrs, cannot claim for matters as injury to your feeling or stress caused by dismissal

functions of trade unions

better pay and working conditions job protection-will kick up fuss if member is fired pressure the gov-lobbying for laws protecting employees(safety reg, max working hours per week) organise industrial action representation and negotiation in dispute

negotiation

both parties bargain with each other/process of bargaining seek to discover common ground and reach agreement to settle a matter of mutual concern a compromise is reached that both parties find acceptable

small claims court

deals with consumer claims, 25€ fee, only claim up to €2000, online application, no need for solicitor, can claim in any eu country except Denmark both sides make dispute, encouraged to reach agreed settlement, decisions made by registrar are not legally binding but usually accepted, appeals can be made through district court and heard before judge

adjudication

deals with discrimination adjudication officer holds hearing where both parties are given opportunity to be heard and to present any evidence relevant to the complaint, common for sorting cases related to unfair dismissal and discrimination AO decides on matter and gives a written decision in relation to the complaint, a party to a complaint may appeal to labour court from a decision made by AO

trade dispute

defined as any dispute between employers and workers which is connected with the employment or non employment or terms and conditions of employment of any person

9 grounds for discrimination

gender marital status religion age family status disability race sexuality traveller

enforcement of decisions

if employer fails to carry out a decision of an adjudication officer of WRC or labour court within the prescribed time an application may be made to the district court for an order directing the employer to carry out the decision

employment discrimination

if they are treated in a less favourable way then another person is, has been, or would be treated in a comparable situation or under any of the 9 grounds

compliance/inspection service

inspectors visit places of employment and carry out investigations on behalf of the WRC in order to ensure compliance with equality and employment related legislation, inspector may issue either a compliance notice or a fixed payment notice (on spot fines) to an employer

conciliation

is a voluntary process which a neutral and impartial third party assists parties in resolving their ir differences, solutions are reached by either negation and agreements between the parties themselves, or by parties agreeing to settlement terms proposed by conciliation officer process is informal in its practice and no legal representation of either parties is required

fair dismissal

occurs when employee has been dismissed from their position due to one of the following grounds- misconduct, redundancies, incompetence, or employee incapable of performing their duties, legal under unfair dismissal act 1977/2015

official industrial action

official strike work to rule overtime ban token stoppage- brief stoppage of work to highlight their frustration and intend to carry the threat further more serious action if agreement not reached

reasons for industrial disputes

pay- cost of living claim, comparability claim, productivity claim, relativity claim (paid more in order to maintain level of pay above other roles) working conditions redundancies trade union recognition unfair dismissal discrimination

causes of industrial relations

pay/disputes over pay- may launch variety diff pay or pension claims, eg cost of living, comparability claim, relativity claim, if employer rejects or dismisses these claims it could lead to industrial disputes working conditions/duties- safety fundamental need, failure by management to provide safe working conditions, equipment, proper hygiene, adequate heating can lead to industrial disputes, changes to work conditions may also cause disputes new work practices/new technology-workers may resist introduction if they believe employer has not provided adequate training or financial award for their increased productivity redundancies- if workers feel unfair procedures, bias/

primary vs secondary picketing

primary- according to industrial relations act 1990 it is lawful for worker to walk up and down with placards at place where employer works or carries bus provided it is for the purpose of peacefully communicating info secondary- is lawful only in situations where it is reasonable of those employers to believe that the second employer was acting to frustrate the industrial action by directly assisting employer

advisory service

promotes good practice in workplace by assisting and advising organisations in all aspects of industrial relations in workplace, helps develop effective ir practices, procedures and structures in areas such as grievance, discipline, communication and consultation, It engages with employers, employees and representatives to help develop effective practices

workplace relation commission

responsible for promoting good industrial relation practices and procedures through provision of a range of services to employers trade unions and employees conciliation process, advisory service, mediation, adjudication, compliance/inspection, enforcement of decisions

mediation

seeks to arrive at a solution through an agreement between the parties, are empowered to negotiate their own agreement on a clear and informed basis, process is voluntary and either party may terminate at any stage

procedure employee should follow before dismissing employee

substantial grounds for justifying dismissal 1)counselling- employer states what employee needs to do to rectify situation and made aware of consequences 2)formal verbal warning- has to inform employee of reasons, evidence made known, given in the presence of employees representative (shop steward) 3)written warning- if no change, formal letter, copy given to representative, may be followed by final written warning, suspension without pay or demotion 4)dismissal- within 14 days of dismissal a written copyjith reasons for dismissal must be forwarded to employee, has a right to appeal dismissal

Employment Equality Act 1998

take case to an adjudication officer at workplace relation commission WRC, must do so within 6 months of discrimination AO will hold formal hearing for case, employer and employee both asked to present, question each other and AO will question AO will consider evidence and makes judgement on matter by issuing written decision to both sides, decision published to the WRC website decision can be appealed to labour court which has power to make legally binding ruling on matter ev- act does good job of protecting employees because gov backed official whose ruling must be obeyed

services provided by the workplace relations commission (WRC)

the WRC is the body to which all industrial relations disputes and all complaints about employment law is presented 1)advisory service 2)conciliation 3)mediation 4)adjudication 5)compliance/inspection service 6)enforcement decision

arbitration

the third party listens to both sides and makes decision/judgement on the solution both parties agree in advance to accept solution and abide by decision made

Conciliation

third party attempts to get both sides of the dispute to talk/separately and jointly third party may offer a solution to the problem parties involved decide on the solution themselves/ not legally binding

constructive dismissal

when employee resigns due to employers unfair behaviour towards them, illegal, employee feels they have no option but to resign, employee can take case to AO, burden of proof falls on employee

constructive dismissal

when employees position is made so difficult that they have no option to resign, burden of proof falls to the employee to show that their resignation was justified and can result in the same entitlements as unfairly dismissed employee