Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 July 2015
273. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views that there is no provision contained within the Companies Act 2014 that will enable the former direct employees of Clerys or their trade union representatives to secure the outstanding redundancy payments from the new owners (details supplied), and that sections 224, 228 and 229 of the Companies Act 2014 do not provide for such a scenario. [29693/15]
View answerUnder the body of Irish employment rights legislation, there are significant protections afforded to employees whose employers are insolvent and who, as a result, default on payment of wages or payment of statutory redundancy entitlements. These protections are administered by the Department of Social Protection.
Under the Redundancy Payments Acts, an eligible employee with a minimum of two years’ continuous service is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment calculated on the basis of two weeks’ salary for every year of service plus one further week’s pay. Compensation is based on the worker’s length of reckonable service and reckonable weekly remuneration, subject to a salary ceiling of €600 per week. In addition, the Department of Social Protection administers the Insolvency Payments Scheme which was established under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts 1984 to 2006. The Insolvency Payments Scheme provides for payment from the Social Insurance Fund of certain pay-related entitlements owed to employees by their employer in the event of the insolvency of their employer. Such entitlements include the following: arrears of wages; holiday pay; sick pay; payment in lieu of minimum notice due under the Minimum Notice & Terms of Employment Act and certain pension contributions.
The above entitlements are based on law. The very purpose of the legislation is to ensure that all employees - regardless of the legal entity that is their employer - receive their full statutory redundancy payments.
