Vol. 435 No. 3
56 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if his attention has been drawn to a factory where FÁS workers employed on a job training programme are likely to be made permanent shortly and at the same time the company is seeking redundancies among more senior staff; if this will have any effect on statutory redundancy payments; and if he has satisfied himself that the job training programme in this case fulfils his aspirations for such a scheme.
I have been informed that the company in question is participating in the job training scheme — JTS — and at present, has 14 trainees in place. The JTS is a quality work-based training programme provided by employers in co-operation with FÁS with trainees following a structured and supervised programme of training in a work-based setting. Training is for a period of between 13 and 52 weeks. Trainees receive the appropriate FÁS training allowances from the employer who may recoup 75 per cent of the allowance from FÁS. Companies may top up the allowance.
With regard to this company, I understand that they have recently experienced difficulties and are seeking some 40 redundancies. FÁS has informed the unions involved that participants on the JTS receive training for a set period and are not employees of the company. This clarification was accepted by the unions.
It is not the intention that JTS participants should displace existing employees. I would be most concerned if any company attempted to do this.
Under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1991, an employee shall be taken to be dismissed by reason of redundancy where the dismissal is due to the complete or partial closing down of his place of employment or a decrease in his employer's requirements for employees of his kind and qualifications. The employer may need fewer employees due to reorganisation of business or a trade recession. The test is generally whether the employer needs fewer employees to do work of a particular kind. The responsibility for deciding whether an employee is redundant or not rests with the employer in the first instance. In the case raised by the Deputy, if the proposed redundancies fulfil the above criteria they will qualify for statutory redundancy payments.
