FULL RECOMMENDATION
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 TO 1990 SECTION 26(1), INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT, 1990 PARTIES : GAS NETWORKS IRELAND - AND - SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL UNION DIVISION : Chairman: Ms Jenkinson Employer Member: Mr Marie Worker Member: Ms O'Donnell |
1. The maintenance and adherence of existing Collective Agreements.
BACKGROUND:
2. The case before the Court concerns a dispute between the Employer and the Union on behalf of its member in relation to an agreed formula for the calculation of compensation for loss of overtime earnings. It is the Union's claim that the Worker has not been fully compensated for loss of guaranteed overtime earnings. The Employer maintains that the Worker was compensated accordingly in line with Labour Court Decision AD10103. The dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on the 18th November, 2015, in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on the 18th December, 2015.
UNION'S ARGUMENTS:
3. 1. The Union maintains that all Collective Agreements must be honoured in full.
2. The Union asserts that there is an agreed buyout formula in place and this should be applied to the Worker.
3. The Employer unilaterally withdrew the Worker's access to overtime in July 2015 without prior negotiation or agreement and furthermore acted in breach of its own grievance and dispute resolution procedures.
EMPLOYER'S ARGUMENTS:
4. 1. The Employer asserts that the Worker's compensation was calculated fairly and in line with Industrial Relations norms.
2. The Employer contends that there is no contractual right to overtime and the compensation paid to the Worker was fair in the circumstances.
3. The Employer maintains that the Worker continued to benefit from overtime payments for a longer period of time than was expected.
RECOMMENDATION:
The matter before the Court concerns the application of the Company’s buy out compensation formula in circumstances where the Claimant’s guaranteed overtime has ceased.
The Claimant had worked seven hours guaranteed overtime, which ceased with effect from July 2015. The Union sought application of an agreed buy out formula devised under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission (as it was then called) in March 2012 which provided for payment of one and a half times the annual loss of guaranteed overtime calculated over the previous three years, therefore it contented that he was entitled to a lump sum compensation payment of €32,970.
Management submitted that as the Claimant’s average overtime over the previous three years was distorted by an anomaly which it was required to rectify following Labour Court Decision AD10103, this resulted in the Claimant working in excess of the seven hours guaranteed referred to above. Therefore it paid him a lump sum compensation payment based on calculating one and a half times the annual loss of his guaranteed seven hours overtime, calculated at time plus ½ i.e. €22,593.
Having considered the submissions of both parties the Court is satisfied that the agreed formula for compensation for loss of guaranteed overtime provides for a lump sum payment based on one and a half times the annual loss of such guaranteed overtime. It is not disputed that the Claimant had seven hours overtime which fell into this category and accordingly management calculated the formula based on this premise. In the unique circumstances in this case to apply the formula based on the actual hours worked in the previous three years would not have been an accurate reflection of his loss of the “guaranteed” element of the overtime.
The Court is satisfied that the correct calculation to account for the Claimant’s future loss in line with the agreed formula is to pay compensation for his guaranteed seven hours overtime per week. Therefore the Court does not uphold the Union’s claim that it should have been reflective of all overtime worked in the previous three years.
However, taking in to account all of the circumstances of this case, including the information presented to the Court by way of written submission and the oral clarifications and elaborations at the hearing, the Court is of the view that the additional payment of €3,000 offered at conciliation should now be accepted in full and final settlement of all matters in this dispute.
The Court so recommends.
Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
Caroline Jenkinson
11th January 2016______________________
SCDeputy Chairman
NOTE
Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be addressed to Sharon Cahill, Court Secretary.