Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 November 2004
289 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, in regard to the abuse by employers of the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2001 which denies the right of an employee with less than 12 months’ service to take a case for unfair dismissal under the Acts, he intends to remove the time barrier and to make the law more in keeping with the principles of natural justice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29050/04]
View answerThe Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2001, as they stand, do not apply to a person who has been in the continuous service of the same employer for less than one year, and there are no proposals in place at present to amend this provision. However the requirement of one year's continuous service does not apply where the dismissal results from: an employee's pregnancy, giving birth or breastfeeding or any matters connected therewith; the exercise or proposed exercise by an employee of a right under the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004; the exercise or contemplated exercise by an employee of the right to adoptive leave, or additional adoptive leave under the Adoptive Leave Act 1995; the exercise or proposed exercise by the employee of the right to parental leave or force majeure leave under and in accordance with the Parental Leave Act 1998; an employee’s entitlements, future entitlements, exercise or proposed exercise of rights under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000; an employee’s trade union membership or activities; the exercise or proposed exercise by the employee of the right to carer’s leave under and in accordance with the Carer’s Leave Act 2001.
When determining if an employee has the necessary service to qualify under the Acts, a Rights Commissioner, the Employment Appeals Tribunal or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, may consider whether the employment of a person on a series of two or more contracts of employment, between which there were no more than 26 weeks of a break, was wholly or partly for or connected with the avoidance of liability by the employer under the Acts. Where it is so found, the length of the various contracts may be added together to assess the length of service of an employee for eligibility under the Acts.
