Search Results for 'Labour law'

Q. I am a self employed individual and have my own business providing repair and maintenance services to individuals and companies. In recent months I have lost several large contracts and the business is no longer viable. I have two employees who have worked with me for the last 15 years. I have been told that my employees will be entitled to jobseekers’ benefit if the business folds but as the owner I have no entitlements. Is this correct?

In these difficult economic times, many businesses are looking to reduce their wage bill in order to ensure survival. Ultimately, this may mean that redundancies will be required, but there are other options. From a legal, commercial, and arguably moral standpoint, redundancy should always be the last resort. The law requires an employer to consider alternatives to redundancy, while commercially, most employers will want to retain good staff in anticipation of the upturn, and avoid the morale shattering effect of letting people go. So what are the options, and what legal challenges do they present?

Last week I looked at wage cuts. This week I’ll tackle the issue of redundancy.

The system that determines the pay and conditions for about 170,000 workers in the country is out of date, totally inappropriate for the current economic circumstances and in need of a radical overhaul, according to IBEC.

The workers at ICT Eurotel in Belmullet yesterday were meeting with their employers as they tried to thrash out a fair redundancy deal for themselves. The company, which does not recognise trade unions, refused the workers’ request for a union representative to help them work out the terms of their redundancy and asked instead for six workers to be sent forward to hammer out the deal.