The Employment Law Name of the University Name of the student Name of the university Author note Introduction

EMPLOYMENT LAW EMPLOYMENT LAW Disclosure Name of the student Name of the university Author note Introduction 2 The Unfair Dismissal Acts 2 Objectives 2 Rights provided to the employees 3 Procedure of making a claim 4 Remedies 5 Case law 5 The Employment Equality Act 1998-2015 6 Objective 6 Rights 6 Process of bringing a claim 7 Remedies 7 Case law 7 The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts 2005 and 2010 7 Objective 7 Rights 8 Process of making a claim 8 Remedies 8 Case law 9

Running head: EMPLOYMENT LAW
Employment Law
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

EMPLOYMENT LAW
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
The Unfair Dismissal Acts............................................................................................................................2
Objectives................................................................................................................................................2
Rights provided to the employees...........................................................................................................3
Procedure of making a claim...................................................................................................................4
Remedies.................................................................................................................................................5
Case law...................................................................................................................................................5
The Employment Equality Act 1998-2015...................................................................................................6
Objective.................................................................................................................................................6
Rights.......................................................................................................................................................6
Process of bringing a claim......................................................................................................................7
Remedies.................................................................................................................................................7
Case law...................................................................................................................................................7
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts 2005 and 2010.....................................................................7
Objective.................................................................................................................................................7
Rights.......................................................................................................................................................8
Process of making a claim........................................................................................................................8
Remedies.................................................................................................................................................8
Case law...................................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................10

EMPLOYMENT LAW
Introduction
The objective of employment law in any country is to ensure that the rights of the
employee and the employer in relation to a workplace are balanced. An employer is the owner of
the workplace and through the virtue of his position he or she has increased bargaining power in
relation to the employment contract. According to Emir (2016) a concentration of power in one
hand can lead to abuse and unfair treatment. Therefore in the same way the employer’s position
may enable term to exploit employees for personal gain. However the government has enacted
various measures to ensure that the employees are given sufficient rights in the workplace so that
they are not exploited or abused by the employers. In addition the provisions ensure that the
employee does not take advantages of such rights to the detriment of the employer and the
functioning of the businesses is not hampered.
The purpose of the paper to critically analyze the unfair dismissal act in relation to the
expansion of employee rights in Ireland in the light of case laws. In addition the papers also
analyzes The Employment Equality Act 1998-2015 and The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work
Acts 2005 and 2010 with reference to case laws and determine their effect on the workplaces in
Ireland.
The Unfair Dismissal Acts
Objectives
The unfair Dismissal Acts 1977-2015 provide the circumstances in which a dismissal
would be regarded as unfair. This includes the situation where the termination has been carried
out by the employer without or without providing notice or the employee himself or herself

EMPLOYMENT LAW
terminating the contract of employment due to the behavior of the employer which is called as
constructive dismissal. When a person has been dismissed form employment they have the right
to bring a claim for unfair dismissal against the employer in specific conditions. However the
legislation does not protect the employees from being dismissed directly. Instead it provides a
framework of appeal through which the fairness of the dismissal can be questioned. The
employee who has been dismissed would have to prove that they are entitled to bring a claim
against the employer for dismissal with respect to the provisions of the legislation. Once a claim
has been filed and the employer has accepted that a dismissal has been made the onus of proof
would be on the employer to show that the dismissal has been made in a fair way. Expect the
cases related to constructive dismissal a dismissal would be treated as unfair by the courts unless
the employer provides successful justification that the dismissal was fair.
In relation to the legislation the employee has the right to ask the employer a written
reason for the dismissal. The reason has to be provided by the employee during 14 days since the
request has been made. When a claim of unfair dismissal is established the employee may be
ordered by court to be placed in the previous job position or the employer would be entitled to
pay the losses incurred by the employee due to the dismissal.
Rights provided to the employees
The legislations states that the employer would have been deemed to make a unfair
dismissal in certain situations. These include situations where the dismissal is a result of
proposed or actual membership in a trade union or indulgence in trade union activities in during
or outside working hours. Employees who are dismissed for providing political and religious
opinions are also covered by unfair dismissal. Employees who have brought legal actions against
the employers if dismissed because of their actions are also covered by unfair dismissal.

EMPLOYMENT LAW
Dismissal with respect to color, sexual orientation, race membership of a traveler community or
age is considered as unfair. Dismissing a women for matters related to pregnancy such as breast
feeding is unfair through the legislation. A claim for rights under legislations such as force
majeure, parental, adoptive or maternity leave if leads to dismissal are also considered as unfair
under the legislation. An employee who is selected unfairly for redundancy or is dismissed for
making a unprotected disclosure in accordance to Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is deemed to
be dismissed unfairly.
An employee can however be terminated if genuine redundancy occurs under the
legislation. However in case of such a situation a claim can be made under the legislation
regarding the way in which employees have been selected for the purpose of redundancy.
Procedure of making a claim
For the purpose of beginning an unfair dismissal claim the employee needs to apply
within six months from the date on which the dismissal had been made. The period me be
extended up to twelve months where there is a reasonable cause.
The employees who are being dismissed have to be provided with a statutory minimum
notice period in case the work tenure of such employee has been a minimum of 13 weeks in
relation to the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973–2005. The period of
notice may be more if provided in the employment contract
An employee who has been working for at least one year has the right of bringing a claim
of unfair dismissal. However in case the employee has been terminated because if pregnancy,
trade union membership or making protected disclosures they make a claim before the one year
period.

EMPLOYMENT LAW
A claim for unfair dismissal can only be brought if the employee has been dismissed.
however there is an exception to this rule in form of constructive dismissal where the employee
have resigned due to the actions of the employer.
The compliant for the making a claim for unfair dismissal has to be made by the
employee to the Workplace Relation Commission through the use of the online complaint form.
The complaint is them referred to the adjudication officer for the process of hearing. Any
decisions which have been made by the officer can be appealed before the labor court and
thereon till the United Kingdom Supreme Court
Remedies
When the employees prove that the dismissal was unfair the legislations gives them the
right of reinstatement, re-engagement or compensation. In reinstatement the employee must be
treated in a manner as if they had not been dismissed. In the process of re-engagement the
employee is re-engaged by the employer. In case of compensation the employee has the right to
claim monitory damages for the losses caused to them. The compensations can be further divided
into present loss, future loss, pension loss, loss of statutory protection and contributory loss.
Case law
The case of Caroline Connolly v Western Health and Social Care [2017] NICA 4, was
related to unfair dismissal where it was held by the court that the tribunal erred in its fining that
the dismissal was fair as the process of disciplinary hearings had been carried out by the
employer. It was provided by the court that the appeal process was itself unfair.

EMPLOYMENT LAW
The Employment Equality Act 1998-2015
Objective
The primary objective of the legislation is to ensure that any form of discrimination is
totally eradicated from the workplace. The operations on which the legislation is applicable
include equal pay, promotion and recruitment, experience or training and harassment and
dismissal. According to the Act discrimination is the treatment of a person in a way which is less
favorable as compared to another person on nine grounds. These grounds include gender, Civil
Statues, family statues, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of a
traveler community. A direct comparison has to be made a person having disability and person
not having disability. Indirect discrimination occurs when policies and procedures have been
drafted in such a way as to be detrimental to a specific group and not any other. The legislation
provides remedies to any employee who has been discriminated in the workplace.
Rights
The legislation provides a right to the employee that they cannot be discriminated against
based in disability. In addition it is the duty of the employer to provide reasonable
accommodations and adjustments for employees who have disability. This ensures that those
people who have disability can participate in employment and have training and promotion.
Employers also need to provide support to any employee who is having pregnancy related
concerns. In the given situation no discrimination can be done against pregnant employees. The
legislation in addition provides for equal pay for equal work. The claim for seeking equal pay
can be initiated under the legislation on the above discussed nine grounds. The employees must
also not be discriminated in the process of selection and recruitment.

EMPLOYMENT LAW
Process of bringing a claim
The Workplace Relations Commission and the Irish Human Rights and Equality
Commission are separate organizations who seek to establish equality in the work place. The
employees can make a direct claim to any of the authorities if they have been subjected to
discrimination by their employer. The complaint can be made within 6 months of the
discrimination by making an online compliant. In case of a reasonable cause the time limit may
be extended to further 6 months.
Remedies
Once a claim had been made by the employees in relation to workplace discrimination
the claim can either be solved through the process of mediation or adjudication. Adjudication
would be initiated when mediation fails to provide desired results. During adjudication the court
may make orders such as equal treatment or equal pay, compensation or a specific action order.
Case law
In DEC-E2014-081 Alistair Clews -v- DSG Retail the court ordered t employer to pay a
compensation of €14000 as the employer had not provided reasonable accommodation for the
disability of the employee.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts 2005 and 2010
Objective
The primary objective of the legislation is to ensure that health and safety are provided to
the employees in the work place. The legislation is applicable on employer, employees as well as
people who are self employed in a workplace. The rights and obligation of both employee and
employer are set out by the legislation.

EMPLOYMENT LAW
Rights
The Act provides varies right to the employees in the work place which include protection from
health issues, bullying, victimization, harassment, violence at work and health and safety leaves.
The legislations requires both the employees and the employers in relation to a workplace to
ensure that appropriate safety framework is established. Strong internal policies have to be
present in the work place to tackle any victimization, harassment and bullying. In addition all
safety materials have to be provided to the employee by the employer in relation to a particular
work.
Process of making a claim
In case of an accident the employee can apply for a injury benefit. For any injury caused in
relation to the work place the employee can claim compensation from the employer. The claim
has to be submitted to the injuriesBoard before any legal proceedings are commenced. In case
the assessment of the board is rejected by the employer the employee can make a claim in the
civil courts. In relation to victimization, harassment and bullying the employee can make a
complain to the Workplace Relation Commission within 6 months the act took place or further 6
months if there is a reasonable clause.
Remedies
In relation to work health and safety the employees are entitled to financial remedies in form of
compensation. The compensation is provided according to the assessment done by the injury
boards or the courts.

EMPLOYMENT LAW
Case law
In Maher -v- Jabil Global Services Ltd, [2005] IEHC 130 which was related to bullying and
stress at work place the court provided the stress test and ruled that the employees are liable to
compensation of a reasonable person in their position would also be subjected to stress.
Conclusion
From the above discussion is relation to the employment rights legislation it can provided Ireland
has established a strong framework for the protection of employees within the work place. There
are sufficient rights provided to the employees in the workplace through these legislations.
However providing additional right may hamper the proper carrying out of business activities.

EMPLOYMENT LAW
References
Barnard, C., 2014. EU employment law and the European Social Model: the past, the present and
the future. Current Legal Problems, 67(1), pp.199-237.
Caroline Connolly v Western Health and Social Care [2017] NICA 4
DEC-E2014-081 Alistair Clews -v- DSG
Emir, A., 2016. Selwyn's law of employment. Oxford University Press.
Maher -v- Jabil Global Services Ltd, [2005] IEHC 130
Painter, R. and Holmes, A., 2015. Cases and materials on Employment Law. Oxford University
Press, USA.
Taylor, S. and Emir, A., 2015. Employment law: an introduction. Oxford University Press, USA.
The Employment Equality Act 1998-2015
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts 2005 and 2010
The Unfair Dismissal Acts 1977-2015