employment law question

Hi there

I am writing this on behalf of two friends. They are from Latvia and their English isn't great so I am doing a bit of research for them. Both of them have employment law problems and they have no money for a Solicitor.

1st guy
He was working with a company for a few years. It was very tough work and he developed medical difficulties due to the stress(physical and mental-long hours and involved lifting etc). His doctors back home said that his job was the cause of this condition (he is only in his mid 20's). He is currently out of work sick and does not want to go back as his health is at risk. His boss seems to be a bit of a gangster - never paid him overtime etc.

What are his options? He has not been let go. Someone said to me that he may be able to go for constructive dismissal so he should just quit himself.

2nd guy -
He was with a company for about 7 months. He was just let go recently without any notice period. He was told there was no more work going but he found out from his ex colleagues that he was replaced. He never had any discipline problems. He was never paid over time on the job - is he entitled to get it? He is also owed holiday leave. Can he sue them for wrongful dismissal as effectively they lied to him as he was replaced?

Any help would be great - I hate to see these guys get treated like this as they are great workers(I used to work with them).

They should contact the 'Migrants Rights Centre'.

Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
55 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 889 7570
Fax: (01) 889 7579
Email:info@mrci.ie

Their website is http://www.mrci.ie

They do great work looking after the interests of people who are exploited by unscrupulous employers.

Ruam

they went there already and they were not too happy with the advice. I said i'd get a few more opinions on it.

ASFAIK you have to be at least 12 months with a compnay before you can claim for unfair dismissal - so the 7 month guy has no right to his job the company is quite entitled to let him go and employ someone else in his place. He is entitled to any holiday other other pay left unpaid. I suggest you contact NERA for advice.

In relation to the first guy - it all sounds a bit leery - if the work is genuinely stressing him out then he should leave. Whether he would have any right against the employer I wouldn't know.

moved from Askaboutlaw to Work, Careers Employee Rights etc,

On the face of it the 1st Guy may have a personal injuries action against the employer on the basis of inadequate training/supervision.
It depends but the potential is there so ask your friend to contact a solicitor practicing in personal injury. If his case is strong most solicitors will take it on a no win no fee so it wont cost him any money nor will most solicitors charge for the initial consultation (except of course if he loses he is liable for the other sides costs).

Re the 2nd guy, I agree with putsch.

are there any Solicitors on here?

Why do you ask? Anybody can come on here (myself included) and say anything. It's not a substitute for professional legal advice but it guides you.

For the record I'm John L. Murray (Chief Justice).... See my point.

needadvice said:

they went there already and they were not too happy with the advice.

Click to expand...

Did they have concerns about the quality of the advice? Perhaps they just got the bad news that they have very few employment rights in Ireland in their first year. Just because the news is bad does not mean it was wrong.

They just weren't too good - the advice was very sparse and confusing. They have rang around a lot of Solicitors and they all want money up front.

As far as I can see it - the guy who is there 8 months can't sue them cos he is under the 1 year for Unfair Dismissal (can he bring them to District court??)

Second guy could sue for constructive dismissal and personal injury(?)

The first guy doesn’t seem to have a case as he’s there under 12 months.

The second guy may have a case if his workplace is not safe (won’t pass a health and safety audit) or if he is being asked to do a job which is unsafe.
If his co-workers are performing the same tasks with the same level of training in the same conditions and they have no problems then maybe he’s just no good at the job and should look for one that suits his physical and psychological abilities.