A report to Government is calling for legislation to prevent large companies from suddenly firing employees en masse without compensation.
Citing the example of Clerys on O’Connell Street, which shut its doors suddenly last year following its sale to the Natrium group, the report by Labour Court chairman Kevin Duffy states, “While the transaction that produced this result may have been lawful, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that it would be preferable if it were not.”
The report calls for major new protections for employees; these include compensation that could be as much as two years’ pay.
When the O’Connell Street building in which Clerys was housed was separated from the company business, workers lost their jobs without any notice and money they were owed was not paid “as an apparent result of the transfer of this asset.”
One proposal being put forward, according to The Irish Times, is that employees would get at least 30 days’ consultation before any closure, and if this period of time is not respected compensation should be increased from four weeks’ pay to two years’ pay.
The report also states that if “an employer transfers assets out of the business with the effect of perpetrating a fraud on the employees, there should be a mechanism for recovering the asset or the proceeds of its sale.”
A spokesperson for Minister for Small Business Ged Nash, who is seeking election to the Seanad after losing his seat in the Dáil, told the Times: “His priority is to ensure that another situation like Clerys cannot happen again and he once again pays tribute to the Clerys’ workers on the dignified stand they have taken, in stark contrast to the owners of the company.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
