Unfair Dismissal Act 1977-2007
Unfair Dismissal Acts 1977 – 2007
1. What workers are excluded from the protection of the Unfair Dismissals Acts?
• Employees with less than one year’s continuous service, but this does not apply when the dismissal results from pregnancy or trade union activities – dismissal for such reasons is indefensible
• Employees who have reached normal retiring age
• Close relatives of the employer, employed and living at the employer’s residence or farm
• Members of the Defence Forces or Gardai
• FAS trainees or apprentices
• State employees (except specified industrial grades)
• Officers of a local authority, health board, vocational education committee or county committee of agriculture
• Persons working under fixed-term contracts (in some cases)
• Persons who, under their contract, ordinarily work outside the State
• Persons undergoing promotion or training for a year or less, and this is specified in a written contract of employment
• Persons undertaking training for the purpose of obtaining qualifications or registration as a nurse, pharmacist, health inspector, etc.
• Persons working under illegal contracts of employment
2. How may an employer justify a dismissal on ‘substantial grounds’?
To justify a dismissal, an employer must show that it resulted from one or more of the following causes, or that there were other ‘substantial grounds’ for the dismissal:
• Lack of skill, or physical or mental ability, or adequate health, or such formal professional or technical qualifications as are appropriate for the work the employee was employed to do
• Conduct of the employee of such a serious or continuing nature as to amount to serious misconduct. This will not include isolated acts or behaviour which has not warranted a warning by the employer
• Redundancy, in accordance with fair or agreed procedures
• The fact that continuation of employment would contravene another statutory restriction. For example, to continue to employ an under-age
1. What workers are excluded from the protection of the Unfair Dismissals Acts?
• Employees with less than one year’s continuous service, but this does not apply when the dismissal results from pregnancy or trade union activities – dismissal for such reasons is indefensible
• Employees who have reached normal retiring age
• Close relatives of the employer, employed and living at the employer’s residence or farm
• Members of the Defence Forces or Gardai
• FAS trainees or apprentices
• State employees (except specified industrial grades)
• Officers of a local authority, health board, vocational education committee or county committee of agriculture
• Persons working under fixed-term contracts (in some cases)
• Persons who, under their contract, ordinarily work outside the State
• Persons undergoing promotion or training for a year or less, and this is specified in a written contract of employment
• Persons undertaking training for the purpose of obtaining qualifications or registration as a nurse, pharmacist, health inspector, etc.
• Persons working under illegal contracts of employment
2. How may an employer justify a dismissal on ‘substantial grounds’?
To justify a dismissal, an employer must show that it resulted from one or more of the following causes, or that there were other ‘substantial grounds’ for the dismissal:
• Lack of skill, or physical or mental ability, or adequate health, or such formal professional or technical qualifications as are appropriate for the work the employee was employed to do
• Conduct of the employee of such a serious or continuing nature as to amount to serious misconduct. This will not include isolated acts or behaviour which has not warranted a warning by the employer
• Redundancy, in accordance with fair or agreed procedures
• The fact that continuation of employment would contravene another statutory restriction. For example, to continue to employ an under-age
Bibliography: www.irishstatutebook.ie www.lrc.ie Aine Keenan (2008) Essentials of Irish Business Law, Gill & Macmillan