Employment Law Claims in Ireland

Below we set-out a list of potential employment law complaints an employee can bring to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

Agency Workers

• Failure to provide Comparable Working Conditions (Part Time Employee).
• Charged a work-seeking fee.
• Not informed by the Employer of a vacant position with the Hirer.
• Treated less favourably by the Employer in relation to access to facilities and amenities.

Discrimination, Equality & Equal Status

• Discriminated against by employer, prospective employer, employment agency, vocational training or other bodies.
• Failure to receive equal pay.
• Discrimination by way of occupational pension.
• Employment Agreement contains a provision which is discriminatory.
• Discriminated against by a person, organisation or company which provides goods, services or facilities.

Fixed & Part Time Work

• Treated less favourable than a comparable full time employee in respect of conditions of employment (Fixed Term).
• Treated less favourably than a comparable full time employee in respect of conditions of employment (Part Time).
• Employer failed to offer a written statement setting out objective grounds justifying the renewal of a fixed term contract and a failure to offer a contract of indefinite duration.
• Employer has contravened the legal provisions in relation to a number of successive fixed term contracts.
• Employer failed to inform fixed term employee of opportunities for a permanent employment.
• Employer failed to provide employee representative information about fixed term work.

Hours of Work

• Failure to get daily rest period.
• Failure to get breaks.
• Failure to get weekly rest period.
• Required to work more than the maximum permitted number of hours.
• Non receipt of paid holiday / annual leave entitlement.
• Failure to receive public holiday entitlements.
• Working excessive night hours.

Industrial Relations Act 

• Complaint in relation to disciplinary sanctions up to and including dismissal.
• Bullying and harassment procedures.
• Regularising acting up arrangements.
• Dispute regarding allowances.
• Investigation of trade dispute.

Minimum Notice

• Failure to receive statutory minimum notice.
• Did not receive all rights during notice period.
• Did not receive contractual minimum notice.

Pay

• Failure to receive national minimum rate of pay.
• Not paid compensation for working Sunday.
• Not provided payslip.
• Errors on payslip.
• Unlawful deduction of wages.
• Employers paid less than amount owed.
• Employers paid by a method other than legally prescribed.
• Employer not keeping statutory records.
• Non receipt of paid holiday / annual leave entitlement.
• Non receipt of public holiday entitlement.
• Non receipt of payment in lieu of notice of termination.
• Non receipt of statement of average hourly rate of pay.
• Non receipt of minimum rate of pay as set out in an Employment Regulation Order (ERO).
• Non receipt of rate of pay set out in a Sectoral Employment Order (SEO).

Penalisation and Protected Disclosures

• Penalised for refusing to cooperate with a breach of the protection of Young Person’s Employment Act, 1996.
• Penalised for proposing to exercise or having exercised entitlement to parental or force majeure leave.
• Penalised for invoking entitlement under the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000.
• Penalised for having exercised or proposing to exercise entitlement to carer’s leave.
• Penalised for having performed the functions of an employee representative.
• Penalised for making a complaint under the Employment Permits Act.
• Penalised for invoking entitlements under the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Work) Act, 2003.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Charities Act, 2009.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Chemicals Act, 2008.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Competitions Act, 2002 to 2010.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Consumer Protection Act, 2007.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Criminal Justice Act, 2011.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Inland Fisheries Act, 2020.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The National Asset Management Agency Act, 2009.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2001.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Protection of Personal Reporting Child Abuse Act, 1998.
• Penalised for reporting breaches of The Property Services (Regulation) Act, 2011.
• Penalised for making a protected disclosure of information under the Health Act 2004.
• Penalised for complying with or making a complaint under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act.
• Penalised by my employer for invoking entitlements under the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 or for refusing to cooperate with a breach of that Act.
• Penalised by my employer for making a report of an incident under European Communities (Occurrence Reporting in Civil Aviation) Regulations 2007.
• Penalised by my employer for performing my functions in accordance with the European Communities (European Cooperate Society) (Employee Involvement) Regulations 2007.
• Penalised by my employer for performing my functions in accordance with the European Communities (European Public Limited-Liability Company) (Employee Involvement) Regulations 2006.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation by my employer (an Employment Agency) for exercising rights under the Protection of Employment (Temporary Agency Workers) Act, 2012
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation by an employer to whom I am hired out by an Employment Agency for exercising rights under the Protection of Employment (Temporary Agency Workers) Act, 2012.
• Victimised for taking an action set out in Section 74 of the Employment Equality Acts.
• Victimised by my employer for being or not being a member, or engaging or not engaging in activities on behalf, of a Trade Union or excepted body.
• Penalised for making a protected disclosure of information under the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act, 2013.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation by my employer for having made a protected disclosure under the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation by an employment agency for exercising my rights under the Further Education and Training Act, 2013.
• Penalised for invoking rights under the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act, 2015.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation for having exercised or proposing to exercise my entitlement to paternity leave.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation for invoking or having given notice of an intention to exercise any rights under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation having opposed or having given notice of an intention to oppose in good faith an action that is unlawful or giving notice of my intention of doing so under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation for giving evidence in any proceedings or giving notice of my intention of doing so under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation for invoking, my rights or giving notice of my intention of doing so under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
• Penalised or threatened with penalisation for opposing in good faith an action that is unlawful or giving notice of my intention of doing so under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.
• Penalised or threaten with penalisation for giving evidence in any proceedings or giving notice of my intention of doing so under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.

Protection of Young Person at Work 

• Unlawful employment of a child.
• Failure to grant the child rest periods / breaks.
• The unlawful employment of a young person.
• The double employment of a child or young person.
• Failure to keep statutory records.
• Failure to display the prescribed abstract of the Protection of Young Person’s Act, 1996.

Redundancy

• Non receipt of redundancy payment.
• Receipt of incorrect redundancy payment.
• Non receipt of proof of employer’s inability to pay redundancy.
• Failure to properly consult in relation to a proposed collective redundancy.
• Failure to supply representative with relevant information relating to proposed collective redundancy.
• Failure to employer to supply Minister with copy of the prescribed redundancy information.
• Dissatisfaction with a decision of a deciding officer in relation to a redundancy lump sum.
• Minister for Social Protection failed to make payment due to me under the Insolvency Payment Scheme.
• Minister for Social Protection failed to make full payment due to me under the Insolvency Payment Scheme.

Special Leave

• Not granted adoptive leave entitlements.
• Not granted additional adoptive leave entitlements.
• Not granted carer’s leave.
• On expiration of carer’s leave, not allowed to return to work.
• On expiration of carer’s leave, not offered suitable alternative employment.
• Non receipt of parent leave entitlement.
• Non receipt of force majeure leave.
• On expiration of parental leave, not allowed to return to work.
• On expiration of parental leave, not offered suitable alternative employment.
• Non receipt of maternity leave entitlement.

Terms and Conditions of Employment

• Non receipt of statement in writing of terms of employment.
• Not notified in writing of a change to employment terms.
• Failure of employer to keep statutory employment records.
• Not notified of working hours regulations applying to the road transport sector.
• Performance of mobile transport activities and failure of employer to provide records.
• Non receipt of terms and conditions as laid down by an Employment Regulation Order (ERO).
• Non receipt of terms and conditions as laid out by a Sectoral Employment Order (SEO).
• Non receipt of statement of core terms in writing under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.
• Receipt of statement of core terms which deliberately contain false or misleading information.

Transfer of Undertaking

• Transferee did not ensure that terms and conditions transferred from previous employer.
• Transferor did not ensure that my terms and conditions transferred to my new employer.
• Transferee did not observe the terms and conditions transferred from my previous employer.
• Dismissed by transferor on the grounds of the transfer of the business or undertaker.
• Dismissed by transferee on the grounds of the transfer of the business / undertaking.
• Employee representation not preserved or arranged by transferee following the transfer of business.
• Transferee did not inform employee representative of certain details of the transfer.
• Transferor did not inform employee representative of certain details of the transfer.
• Transferee did not consult in relation to the transfer.
• Transferor did not consult in relation to the transfer.
• Transferee did not advise in relation to the transfer.
• Transferor did not advise in relation to the transfer.

Unfair Dismissals Act 

• Unfairly dismissed, with at least 12 months service.
• Unfairly dismissed, does not have at least 12 months service.
• Forced to leave job due to the conduct of employer or others at work (Constructive Dismissal), have at least 12 months service.
• Forced to leave job due to the conduct of employer or others at work (Constructive Dismissal), does not have at least 12 months service.