Please help! PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT Act query

F

fu

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I work for an IT company that is facing involuntary redundancies in the short term - this has been determined by word-of-mouth and hasn't been officially communicated by management, althought it has been unofficially confirmed by some.

We don't have a union.

Under the terms of the Protection of Employment Act 1977, the employer must notify employee representatives of the intent to have redundancies 30 days before any redundancies.

The act itself describes employee representatives as:
"employees' representatives" means officials (including shop stewards) of a trade union or of a staff association with which it has been the practice of the employer to conduct collective bargaining negotiations;

Since we don't have a precedent for this, what qualifies in our situation as a staff association? Will our sports and social club do? Can we nominate S&S, for example by registered letter to company HR dept, as our official employee representatives?

fu.
 
PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT Act query

I don’t know the answer, but the explanatory booklet below might be of use if you haven't already seen it.

www.entemp.ie/protemp77.pdf

It says

(c) “‘employees’ representatives’, in relation to employ ees who are affected, or are likely to be affected, by proposed collective redundancies (whether by being selected for redundancy or
otherwise), means -
(i) a trade union, staff association or excepted body with which it has been the practice of the employer to conduct collective bargaining negotiations, or
(ii) in the absence of such a trade union, staff association or excepted body , a person or persons chosen (under an arrangement put in place by the employ er) by such employees from amongst their number to represent them in negotiations with the employer;”,

So in your case there looks to be an obligation on your employer to facilitate the selection of a representative from you and your fellow employees.
 
Re: PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT Act query

Correct above - The company (HR usually) will orgainise a chance for nominations and selection of representatives which must be in place 30 days before any redundancies. I think there is a minimum amount of redundancies for this process to be in place but I'm assuming that your company will reach this figure - think its something like 5 or 7. Contact the Dept of enterprise for further clarifications.
 
penalties for non-compliance?

are there penalties for non-compliance?
gauging from past experience, my company has either done this before, or come very close to it vis-a-vis number of employees let go...

someone mentioned a sliding window of 30 days for the headcount also...

I signed an Intellectual Property agreement on joining this company stating that on leaving the company I would not compete in a particular area of technology for 9 months after.

Does this apply if I am made redundant? I would have imagined there is some provision in either Irish or European law to protect the right to work and to ensure the employability of the individual - i.e. if my position is made redundant, does any anit-compete contract I signed still apply?
 
Protection of Employment Act query

The first question is covered in the explanatory booklet. You can complain to a Rights Commissioner if your employer does not follow the procedure. Contact details are provided in the Booklet.

The second question, about non-compete, I don’t know. Does your contract just say nine months after leaving, or does it specify leaving voluntarily?
 
Two things.......

Contact the Dept of Enterprise and Employment straight away - tell them about you concerns and they will explain exactly what your rights are. The 30 days rule does apply to "groups" as oppsoed to individuals and there is an obligation on the employer to notify the Dept in advance ( think this was to allow for meetings to see if it could be avoided etc... but also to allow the represetnative negotiate on behalf of the employees affected.

With regard to the Intellectual Properties and non compete clauses, these will mean nothing if the employers is making the decision to discontinue the employment. If the employer wants to retain that proerty they can continue to pay you otherwise tough s**t.

PS. I don't think you want your S&S people representing you in this forum. Basically if a meeting is called you want to make extensive notes of what the employer is saying and request another meeting within a few days. Then get all the advise D of E & E, legal etc and talk with all the people involved and collate any questions they have. It's very different and people start thinking not as a team in the S&S context but how discussions will impact them and their families.

Good luck.

Jim
 
Two things.......

In relation to IP the clause can still apply once your contract is terminated legally. However it will depend on the employer and whether or not they will bring an action. This is usually unlikely. Sometimes future employers request to see previous employee contracts and may refuse to employee someone with such a contract.

If the employer won't remove it altogether try and get a compromise such as if if I apply for x will there be a problem - if not can I get a letter to state this.

Collective redundancies must follow a procedure and you can insist it is followed. It is important that the representatives are suitable and will not go off on a personal mission. This will not achieve anything.

In my experience the most effective thing to do personnally if redundancy is likely is to send out your cv. That way you have at least started on the road, and if you get a redundacy package and know you are to start in a new job it is a lot easier to deal with.
 
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I once had an issue with an employment contract and obtained advice from my solicitor who told me that, in most case, non compete clauses commonly included in "US style" contracts were not legally enforcable in Ireland/EU. Obviously if you steal IP and use it in another job then you could be liable for legal action. However going to another employer who may be involved in a similar line of work I can't see most employers pursuing you unless there is blatant infringement of the relevant clause. Basically, I wouldn't worry about it (and didn't in the past). If in doubt you might want to obtain professional legal advice on your own situation.
 
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