LCR22585

1.Sunday Premium


BACKGROUND:

2.This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of Conciliation Conferences under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission. As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on 25 January 2022 in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A Labour Court hearing took place on 4 May 2022.



UNION'S ARGUMENTS:

    1.A rate of€3.44 should be paid per hour for all hours worked on Sunday in line with the time and one third industry norm, as opposed to the            50c per hour paid for Sunday work to the workers covered by this claim.
    2. Workers in similar roles at other client sites are paid the Sunday premium of€3.44 per hour by this company and replacement staff on the              same site were paid €3.44 per hour also.

COMPANY'S ARGUMENTS:

1. The Employer took over the contract for managing services from a previous service provider in 2019 and has retained employees on the same ERO rate. The previous employer did not pay Sunday premium and the Employer in this case agreed to pay a Sunday premium of 50c per hour, the cost of which has to be absorbed by the Employer as the client will not pay for it.
2. The client is not willing to pay the premium sought. The issue was raised in discussions regarding an extension of the contract in 2021. The Employer is not in a position to absorb the cost of concession of the claim.

Accordingly, the Court recommends that this rate should be applied to the Workers covered by this claim, with effect from 1 April 2022.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Tom Geraghty
SOC	______________________
11 May 2022	Deputy Chairman